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ADVENTURES 
ON THE GREAT RIVERS 



ADVENTURES 



ON 



THE GREAT RIVERS 



ROMANTIC INCIDENTS AND PERILS 

OF TRAVEL, SPORT, AND EXPLORATION 

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD 



RICHARD STEAD, B.A. 

AUTHOR OF "WILL OF THE DALES," ETC., ETC. 



WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS 



PHILADELPHIA 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 

LONDON : SEELEY to* CO. LIMITED 

1907 






-/<?£$ <?6 



PREFACE 

The adventures met with on great rivers by travellers 
and big-game hunters, and especially by explorers, are 
wonderful in their variety. And as a matter of fact, each 
zone of the earth seems to have its peculiar difficulties 
and dangers. In tropical regions there are the larger and 
more formidable wild beasts to encounter, the lion, the 
tiger, the elephant, the hippopotamus, [or the rhinoceros 
in the Old World, the puma, the jaguar, and what not in 
the New. As for the insects, and the creeping and crawl- 
ing things innumerable, their attacks are so incessant, so 
determined, and so exasperating, that it is a question 
whether these smaller pests are not more to be dreaded 
than the bigger and apparently more dangerous beasts 
that roam the forests and plains, or infest the rivers and 
their banks. Then there is the whole family of deadly 
snakes to be reckoned with, and, by river travellers, the 
crocodile and the rest of the amphibious of stream- 
haunting reptiles. 

The Arctic and sub-Arctic districts have their own 
dangers, the cold, the frozen torrent, the ice-floe, the 
scarcity, the starvation even. And the more temperate 
zones not seldom bring difficulties and risks to the ad- 
venturous traveller or the hunter. Floods, rapids, and 



PREFACE 

cataracts are there ; mountain valleys have their glaciers, 
their avalanches, their precipices; wolves and bears are 
foes not to be despised. Last, but not least, there are 
often enemies in human shape more formidable than even 
the fiercest of the lower animals — the cannibal or the 
brutal savage of civilized regions, or the more crafty and 
generally more unscrupulous semi-civilized man. 

In meeting all these perils, the pluck, the endurance, 
the resourcefulness shown by many of the explorers — and 
not least amongst them our own countrymen — are often 
beyond praise. On the contributions to our geographical 
and scientific knowledge made by these adventurous and 
gallant men there is little need to dwell ; they are known 
to all intelligent folk. 

The author hereby offers his grateful thanks to the 
several distinguished writers and eminent publishers who 
have so kindly granted permission to use their works — to 
Lady Stanley, Dr. Cheadle, and Messrs. Francis Galton, 
Trevor-Battye, and W. Lidstone amongst the former, and 
to Mr. J. Murray, Mr. E. Arnold, Mr. Fisher Unwin, 
Messrs. A. Constable and Co., Messrs. Hurst and Blackett, 
Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co., and Messrs. Sampson Low, 
and Co., amongst the latter. Fuller acknowledgements 
will be found appended to the various chapters concerned. 



CONTENTS 

i 

CROSSING THE YELLOW EIVER pages 

The Abbe Hue, the great French missionary, travels in China and 
Tartary — Journeys from Pekin towards Thibet — Passage of the 
Yellow River a formidable difficulty — River in high flood — A 
wide belt of mud to be crossed first — Haggling with the Chinese 
ferrymen — Hoaug-ho banks reached — Night spent in a river 
temple — A struggle to get a camel on board — An unwieldy boat- 
load — A novel plan — Another mud stretch — The " Little River " 
— Rescue by a native Christian. ...... 17-28 

II 
WITH WATERTON ON THE DEMERARA RIVER 

Waterton the famous naturalist — An adventurous life — On the 
Demerara River — Fever — Foot injured — A deadly coulacanara 
snake — A labarri made to poison himself — Baiting for a cayman 
— A formidable hook — Hook and bait swallowed — Waterton 
faces the brute — Jumps upon its back — Rides for forty yards — 
Another labarri adventure — Vampires and their attacks — A 
second coulacanara found under a fallen tree — Waterton and two 
niggers on the watch — Snake comes forth and is held down with 
spear — Waterton and negro throw themselves upon him — Snake 
made to coil itself round lance — Bagged ! — Snake in bedroom 
all night — Ten men release it from sack in the morning — Snake 
killed 29-39 

III 

THE NIGER MYSTERY SOLVED 

Clapperton's failure to trace the Niger to its mouth — Richard Lander 
his servant undertakes another expedition, in company with his 
brother John Lander — They arrive at Badagry — Human sacrifices 
— Land journey to Boussa on the Niger — Attack by twenty 
savages — Some relics of Mungo Park's expedition recovered — 
Alarming demonstrations at the mouth of the Tchadda — Cool- 
ness of the Landers — A critical moment — Damuggoo and its 
friendly king — Attack by one of a crowd of canoes at Kirree — 
Narrow escape — Natives quarrel as to booty — The expedition 
party made prisoners — Native canoes overturned — A terrifying 
scene — A few things restored — King Obie demands enormous 
ransom — King Boy buys prisoners — Carried in war canoes down 
stream — Further demands by King Forday — The mystery 
solved. .......... 40-51 



CONTENTS 

IV 

THE WHITE CHIEF ON THE NILE PAGES 

Mr. Petherick, once British Consul for the Soudan, undertakes the 
exploration of the Upper Nile, in conjunction with the ivory trade 
— Starts from Khartoum — Crocodiles and hippopotamuses — The 
crocodile and the fellah — Daring attack by hippopotamus — 
Hostile demonstration from the shore — Conference with hostile 
chief — Wh ite chief scores over black — A struggle for a tusk — 
Insulting conduct of chief — Rival expeditions in search of ivory 
come up the White Nile — One of them comes to grief — Re- 
joicing amongst natives — Their arrogance — Plot to attack Mr. 
Petherick — Englishman with six men out in the bush stockades 
his camp — Six weeks' siege — Reinforcements come up — Reprisals 
made on cattle-kraals of natives — A pitched battle — Signal 
victory for Englishman's forces — He astonishes the blacks by 
setting free every prisoner he had taken 52-62 



COSSACKS AND CIRCASSIANS 

The River Kouban — Dr. Clarke a traveller of the early part of the nine- 
teenth centuiy — Plague of mosquitoes — Astonishing abundance 
of reptiles — Carriage dragged through swamps — Marshes and 
reed forests — The Englishmen make short excursion across 
river to Circassian territory — Extraordinary precautions taken 
for their safety — A threatening reception — The Ataman of Eka- 
terinedara — Peacemaking ceremonies — A magnificent display — 
Circassian camp on the bank of the river — Cossack troops drawn 
up on the heights above — Meeting between the notables on 
either side — Pasha crosses in a crowded canoe — Mutual mistrust 
between Cossacks and Circassians — An angry altercation — 
Fortunate escape. ........ 63-71 

VI 

PERILS IN PARAGUAY 

Everything in South America on a large scale — The brothers Robert- 
son, explorers in Paraguayan districts — The " thistleries " — Mr. 
W. Robertson sails in a brigantine up the Parana — Fearful tempest 
— Slow progress — Haulage operations — Lifting the ship off sand- 
banks — Mosquito plagues — Jaguars and their daring — Sad death 
of a young fellow on the eve of his marriage — An alligator in 
the canoe — Robertson leaves the brigantine at Corrientes — 
Crosses river in the dark — Dangers from the insurgent bands — 
The King's Ferry — In the hands of the insurgents — Terror of 
Robertson's servant — The two allowed to go — A terrible night — 
Jaguars in numbers — Risky way of crossing the rivers and deeper 
lagoons — Loss of bag with the money — Its wonderful recovery — 
A very narrow escape from jaguars — Scarcity of food — Lost in 
the woods — Arrival at Assuncion. ..... 72-82 



CONTENTS 

VII 

STEAMING UP THE DANUBE SEVENTY TEARS AGO 

PAGES 

Backward state of the Lower Danube peoples half-a-century ago — 
Miss Skene embarks on a Danube steamer — Bad weather in the 
Black Sea — Russian mouth of river entered — Solitary sentries 
on shore — A floating corpse in the river — River in high flood — 
Evidences of destruction caused in the late Balkan War — Turk- 
ish passengers — Their contempt for the Christians— A Bulgarian 
family — Miss Skene's cabin invaded — A frightful storm — Terror 
of a Turk on seeing a woman run at full speed — Passengers on 
shore attacked by villagers — A hasty retreat— Steamer left, and 
a long boat employed — Rapids — Dangers of the "Iron Gate" 
— New steamboat boarded at Orsova — A frightful gorge. . 83-93 



VIII 

DANGERS ON THE EUPHRATES AND ITS TRIBUTARIES 

Sir Henry Layard's early travels in Persia — He takes passage in a 
fuel boat on the river Karun — Disagreeable passage — Violent 
dispute as to the fare — Pilgrims to Kerbela — Layard robbed of 
his money — Strange scenes on the Jerrahi — Whole population 
take to rafts — Layard left in a deserted village— Dogs and 
jackals — He makes a raft and gets away — Marauding cavalry — 
Layard travels along the Euphrates valley with a postman — 
Attacked by robbers — Blackmail — Chased by Arabs on drome- 
daries — Village attacked in the night by Shammar tribe — A Turk 
— Narrow escape — Stripped naked and left — The first steamer on 
the Karun — The rapids — Stranded on land away from the river 
— Fort constructed round ship — Sudden rise of the river in the 
night — Vessel floated back to the river — Navigability of the 
Karun 94-105 



IX 

LIVINGSTONE AS AN ELEPHANT HUNTER 

Livingstone not strictly a big-game hunter — Larder had to be re- 
plenished, however — Buffalo behind, elephants in front — Dam 
elephant and calf stalked by blacks — Animals apostrophized — 
Dam deserts calf at first — At bay — Hippopotamus destructive 
to crops — Marvellous amount of wild animals in Zambesi valley 
— The beasts have no fear of man — Speared elephant resembles 
gigantic porcupine — Mr. Oswell, Livingstone's companion — The 
terrible nature of the thorn scrub — Oswell encounters a huge 
elephant in the thorn thickets — Thrown from his horse — Under 
the elephant's body — Throws his legs apart — Remarkable 
escape 106-114 



CONTENTS 



WITH SPEKE ON THE UPPER NILE 

PAOBS 

The Nile a mystery from very ancient times — Speke discovers 
Victoria Nyanza — Sent out again to prove whether the lake is 
the source of the Nile — Lands at Zanzibar — His men take to 
marauding — Natives terrified by guns— Speke and 'his com- 
panion Grant for a time follow different routes — A three-mile 
swamp— Bank of Nile reached— River traced up to the Victoria 
Nyanza — Speke's triumphant feelings — Ripon Falls — His men 
again turn piratical — The difficulties in the Unyoro territory — 
Wanyoro boats attack the expedition — Critical situation — 
"They are women !" — Grant returns with unfavourable news 
of N'yamyon jo, a native official— Speke and Grant compelled 
to abandon Nile passage. 115-125 

XI 

A FLORIDA BEAR 

Wakassare river in Florida — English game hunter's camp on its bank 
Difficulties of crossing — Rude raft made of pine logs— First voy- 
age — Great cane-brake to be cut through— Pony nearly causes 
disaster on the third crossing — Alligators plentiful — Dense fog 
— A bear dashes through the camp — Hue and cry in the fog — 
Bear found in a cane-brake — Rough experiences of the dogs — 
The doctor tumbles headlong in front of the bear— Two ineffec- 
tual shots, powder damp — Grave peril of the doctor — He throws 
his axe — Weapon misses — Bear off again — Takes refuge in a 
tree — Doctor's dog almost killed— Mike fires a lucky" shot — 
Bear falls 126-133 

XII 

TINDER FIRE ON A CAUCASIAN RIVER 

War between Russians and Turks in Trans-Caucasia — Laurence Oli- 
phant, an English artist-correspondent with Turkish forces — 
Many British officers under Omar Pasha — Col. Ballard recon- 
noitres the banks of the river Ingour — No ford discoverable — 
Russian fire — The artist as a military engineer — His coolness 
and adroitness — Battery formed — Omar Pasha arrives with 
Turkish force— Ballard sent on with advance troops — Smaller 
branch of stream crossed — Wooded island traversed — A bit of 
open — A formidable Russian battery — Hot fight between Bal- 
lard's troops and the battery — A narrow escape — Osman Pasha 
crosses the river lower down — Russian guard overcome — Sim- 
mons makes good his passage higher up — Enemy taken in the 
reverse — Battery captured — Hidaiot's ruse — Victory of the 
Turks 134-144 

XIII 

AN ESCAPADE ON THE RED RIVER 

M. Louis Riel, the President of the " Red River Republic" — Gen. 
Wolseley sent to punish him— Major Butler goes on ahead as scout 
— Butler takes steamer at Pembina for Fort Garry — During pas- 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

sage down Red River, mounted horsemen seen on banks — It was 
clear that information was being taken in advance to insurgents 
at Fort Garry — Butler and a Canadian gentleman land, in dark- 
ness, short of Fort Garry — Butler makes tracks across country 
towards Lower Fort Garry, where was an English force — Mean- 
while a hue and cry at the fort — Riel sends men in pursuit of 
Butler — "Dead or alive ! " — " Whisky Tom's " and its effects — 
Friendly clergyman — Lower Fort Garry reached — Palaver with 
friendly Ojibbeways — By help of these Indians, Butler begins 
ascent of Winnipeg river to meet Wolseley — A cataract and its 
difficulties — A gallant fight with the falls — The cataract con- 
quered at last, an extraordinary victory. . . . 145-156 

XIV 

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET ON THE OXUS 

The far-famed Oxus — American war - correspondent, Captain 
Mac Gahan, toilsacross the terrible desert of Kyzil-Kum — Desires 
to join column of Russian General Kaufmann — Five divisions of 
Russian army bearing down on Khiva — Mac Gahan reaches Oxus 
valley, tired, dispirited, and dreading dangers — No sign of 
General Kaufmann — A night amongst the sand dunes — Fascin- 
ated by sight of the mighty and mysterious Oxus — Marks of 
cannon — Whose ? — A score of Khivans seen on in front — A 
great storm — Constant alarms by sight of foes in the distance 
— "Nerves unstrung" — Sound of guns — A battle observed from 
hill-top — Approach of troop of horse — Mac Gahan and men hide 
in sand — New-comers prove to be friendly Kirghiz — Push joy- 
fully on — Russians bombard fort across the river — Battle of 
Sheik-Arik — Khivans defeated — Mac Gahan complimented by 
Russian General Golovatchoff — "A molodyetz." . . 157-168 

XV 

ELK-HUNTING IN CEYLON 

Fort McDonald River — A fine elk found — Elk at bay crosses river — 
Two dogs follow — Straggle in the water — Near the edge of a 
great cataract — Danger imminent — Marvellous escape of dogs — 
Elk in stream now followed by the other hounds — One carried 
over the fall and lost — Hunters cross the river — Elk perched on 
a cliff three hundred feet high — An exciting scene on the ledge 
— Buck at bay — Leaps over the precipice — A doe chased by 
dogs also falls over the precipice — A dog drawn into a subter- 
ranean pool — Strange escape — Another buck chased by a single 
greyhound — Animals near the edge of a huge perpendicular 
rock — Hound stops short, elk goes over the cliff. . . 169-177 

XVI 

PERILS ON THE RHONE GLACIERS 

Glaciers as part of a river course — Mr. Ball, with four companions, 
approaches the Glacier du Tour — The ice-cornice — Fearful ex- 
perience and narrow escape — Glacier de Trient — The "window " 
xi 



CONTENTS 

PAGES 

— Glacier de Salena — Dangerous descent — Great chasm with a 
torrent at bottom— An ice cataract — Precipices close in upon 
the mountaineers — Darkness comes on — Great torrent below — 
The climbers encamp for the night on a steep slope — Difficulty 
of keeping up the h're — Little food left — Sleep impossible — A 
start at earliest dawn — Another tremendous hollow — A great 
climb necessary — Level of the glacier reached again — Glacier 
rivers and pool — A cold bath and toilet — Long march down the 
river valley to Orsieres 178-190 

XVII 

HUNTING ADVENTURES ON THE NILE TRIBUTARIES 

Seven big-game hunters start for the Abyssinian tributaries of the 
Nile — Lions, giraffes and buffaloes on the Settite — Mr. Colvin 
charged by bull buffalo — The result of using conical bullets — 
Narrow escape from crocodile — Fine fishing in the Settite — The 
"kelb-el-bahr," a terrible fish — Wild beasts at the pool — Two 
"lions "wounded in the night — They pro\e to be panthers — 
Lion stalking — Sheep used to attract the lions — Two wounded, 
one a magnificent specimen — Both found and killed next day — 
Hippopotamus flesh much prized — Bad blood between Base 
tribes and Abyssinians — A war scare — Hunters surrounded 
by hostile Abyssinians — A "view-halloo" scares away the 
enemy — Mahomet, servant to the Englishmen, speared by the 
Abyssinians 191-202 

XVIII 

ROUGH TIMES ON THE AMAZON 

Amazon less explored than it deserves — The Amazon Steam Naviga- 
tion Company sends out three Englishmen to survey — Mr. Lid- 
stone, an engineer, ascends the Tapajos tributary— A crazy boat 
and a crew of two — The rains and the heat — Frightful thunder- 
storms — Mr. Lidstone spends time in a tumble-down hut — The 
two men in the boat swamped — Provisions spoilt — Novel caulking 
materials — A weary round of violent storms — Loss of rudder — 
Of oars — Fourteen hours for seven miles — Party make for San- 
tarem — Another terrible tempest — Insect pests — Mosquitoes — 
"Wasps — Ants — Bees — An adventure with a centipede — Alliga- 
tors and jaguars — Enormous toads — One of the explorers bitten 
by a scorpion — At death's door — Strange cure, and wonderful 
recovery. ......... 203-216 

XIX 

ON CANADIAN TORRENTS 

Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle attempt the North-West Passage by 
land — River McLeod reached — Horses set the forest on lire — 
Desperate efforts of the men to extinguish it — Horses in a 
panic — Fire mastered at last — Dangers in the Myette valley — A 



CONTENTS 

PAGES 

stream flowing west unexpectedly met with — The " divide " had 
been reached — Western or Pacific slope of Eocky Mountains — 
Fraser River struck — Narrow rock path blocked— Obstruction 
dislodged — Two horses get into the Fraser and are carried away 
— Indian rescues one — Pluckiest deed of the whole journey — 
Other horse lost with many valuable things. . . . 217-227 

XX 

STIRRING SCENES ON THE IRRAWADY 

Mr. Gouger prepares to sail up the Irrawady to Ava — A Buddhist 
priest "blown up" at Rangoon — Visit to dropping- well — 
Shivering fits and fevers— Death of one of the party — A black 
servant drowned — Alligator story — Ava reached — Successful 
trading — War breaks out between Britain and Burmah — Re- 
view of Burmese army — Water manoeuvres — Serious position 
of Englishmen in Burmah — Gouger thrown into prison — Long 
and terrible imprisonment — Taken from prison and carried 
down the river in a Burmese war-boat — Boat stopped by a 
beaten Burmese general— Allowed to proceed — A British flotilla 
seen in the distance — Burmese boat brought up by a warning 
shot — Gouger rescued and seut on to the steamer Diana — Fright 
of the Burmese crew at the sight of the steamer — Peace signed 
— Unexpected attack from the river bank — Boat's crew go in 
chase — A final capture, a splendid Burmese war-boat. . 228-239 

XXI 

BIG GAME IN SOUTH AFRICA 

Mr. Francis Galton in Damaraland — A prowling lion — Lost in the 
thicket — Another night visit — Grand hunt organized and the lion 
killed — Hyena and lion attack horses and mules — Another hunt — 
Narrow escape of Galton — His marvellous coolness — Big game 
plentiful but shy — An empty larder — Giraffe sighted — Long 
stalk along bed of river — Giraffe at bay — Horse frightened — 
Hunter follows the chase on foot — Giraffe killed — Larder 
replenished — Frightful thunderstorm — Man killed — Baiting 
with an old woman — Hyena killed — Bare legs and thorns — Hyena 
killed in moonlight — A lively bit of work — Koodoo or lion ? — A 
great fright — Splendid black lion — Most critical situation for the 
traveller — Lion beats retreat 240-249 

XXII 

ON THE WINDINGS OF THE SAN JUAN 

Major Rickard reaches the valley of the San Juan — River forded — 
Alarm in the night — Pumas attack mules — A fierce fight — Two 
pumas killed— Two mules also — The windings of the river— The 
Major tries a short cut — Steep and risky path — No sign of habit- 
ation — Darkness comes on — A wall of rock with a cleft in it — 
A tramp of three hours — Back at the cleft — A salt marsh — Make 
a fire and camp for night — No fresh water — A farm and break- 
fast — The San Juan river once more — Frequent crossings again — 
The Major thrown from his mule into the flood — Saved by the 
mule's tail — Arrival at the town of San Juan. . . . 250-259 



CONTENTS 

XXIII 

A FLOOD IN QUEENSLAND PACES 

Floods even in Australia — A Danish emigrant on the banks of a 
Queensland river — Attacked by a ruffian, who comes off second 
best — Rains and storms set in — The Dane pitches his tent near 
the river — Tremendous floods — Imprisoned for three weeks by 
the waters — Food runs short — Traveller famishing — About to 
cross the swollen river — Finds a man dying of hunger — Eisks 
the passage to a farm on the opposite shore — Food refused — The 
Dane takes some by force for the dying man — Helps his sick 
friend forward — Necessary to cross the river again — A horse 
carried away by the floods — The Dane resigns his remaining 
horse to the sick man — Himself attempts the passage on foot — 
Exciting time — Narrowly escapes drowning — Black ingratitude 
of the befriended man 260-270 

XXIV 

THE FIRST STEAMER ON LAKE NTASSA 

Mr. Young goes to superintend the building and launching of a 
steamboat on Nyassa — Vessel taken in sections to the Cape, 
thence to the Zambesi mouths — Difficulty in finding the proper 
channel — Bolts and nuts found to be rusty — Boat launched and 
the voyage up the Zambesi begun — Loss of the cutter — Difficul- 
ties with shallows — The Shire river entered — Heat and mosqui- 
toes — Dangerous gorge — The Falls reached — Exceptional port- 
age, 800 men employed — Boat, machinery, boiler, tackle, stores, 
all carried for 70 miles to a point above the cataracts — Food runs 
short, hippopotamuses killed— Hostility of the Arab slave-traders 
— Steamboat reconstructed — Steams out of Shire into the lake. 271-282 

XXV 

WILD LIFE ON THE PARANA 

The Upper Parana streams — Mr. Bigg-Wither, an English engineer 
— Boat bearing down upon a series of cataract-rapids — First fall 
negotiated with difficulty — Boat dashed over second fall — 
Capsizes — Severe struggle in the waters — Canoe upside down — ■ 
Mr. Bigg-Wither and his servant Messeno saved at length — 
Tropical insects — The "berne" — Wild pigs — A formidable 
assailant — The boar killed — Dead boar given to a German to 
carry — Man chaffed by his mates- — Falls from tree bridge with 
his burden — An alarm — " Indians !" — A dark form enters hut 
in the night — Proves to be a fine ocelot — Snake on a man's arm 
— A tapir hunt — Another tapir chased by a jaguar — Animals 
collide with hut — Cobra drops into a canoe containing a single 
man — Man fell out as cobra fell in. .... 283-294 

XXVI 

AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

Sir Henry Stanley, the discoverer of Livingstone — He sets himself 
to explore the great Congo river — Starts from the Tanganyika 
country — Within three degrees of the Ecpuator — A brush with 
the natives at Unya-N'sing6 — Frank Pocock — Poisoned arrows 



CONTENTS 

TAOS 

— Capture of three native women — Blood-brotherhood — Stanley- 
occupies market-green of a village on bank — A terrific fight 
from behind the stockade — A night of fear — A village seized — 
Strongly fortified — A vain effort by the blacks to storm the 
camp — A second and more formidable attack — Stanley's men 
show admirable steadiness and pluck — A bad half-hour — 
Arrival of Tippu-Tib with reinforcements — Stanley makes a 
desperate resolve — Enemy's canoes cut adrift in the night and 
captured — Stanley dictates terms to the baffled negroes — Blood- 
brotherhood ceremonies — End of a memorable struggle. . 295-309 

XXVII 

THE WILD YUKON 

Mr. Pike with two friends ascends the Stikine river — Description of 
canoe used — The current tremendous— Heavy hauling — Hard to 
keep to true river course — "Little Canon " — Almost insuperable 
difficulties— Whites and Indians in concert to navigate ' ' Little 
Carion " — Canoe drill — Success at last, and a better part of river 
reached — A seventy mile portage to Francis Lake — Intense cold 
of winter— Dangers attending it — A broken rifle and a grizzly 
bear — Map of Pelly river rectified by Mr. Pike— Yukon navi- 
gation — Portage into the Kuskokvim — Voyage down to Behring's 
Sea — Then on to Ounalaska Island. .... 310-319 

XXVIII 

KLONDYKE MINEES ON THE RAPIDS 

The rush to Klondyke— Voyage out to Juneau, in Alaska— Chilcoot 
Pass — Break-up of ice— The Eva launched— A leak repaired 
—Voyage down the Yukon begun— Miles Canon— Three men 
in a boat come to grief — The Eva ventures the passage and 
accomplishes it— The White Horse Rapids— An inspection— A 
trial trip by a log— A thrilling experience— Safely through- 
Mosquitoes terrible— Dawson City reached— Cabin built outside 
the town — No success in getting claims for gold-mining — A 
miner brings a dead body to be taken care of— The leader of the 
Canadian mining party leaves Klondyke— By steamboat down 
the Yukon— Stranded on a sand-bar— Passengers taken off 
and carried to Behring's Sea. 320-329 

XXIX 

CROSSING NORTH RUSSIAN RIVERS 

The crossing of rivers often a great difficulty to a traveller— Mr. Trevor- 
Battye on his way from Kolguev to Archangel— Up the Petchora 
— Passage of the Tsilma— Ponies unable to mount the steep frozen 
bank— Hauled up by ropes — Boat returns across river to fetch 
another horse — Boat, with two men and horse on board, wedged 

fast in ice— Carried down stream— Had to be left to their fate 

A happy sequel— The Mezen to be crossed— Novel bridge con- 
struction—A plucky lad— The bridge sags ominously — A crash, 
but all saved — The " Governor " a name to conjure with — The 
Mezen— A wolf hunt— The fate of the runaway horse— The 
Vashka— The Pinega— The Northern Dwina— A villanous 
ferryman on the Volga. ...... 330-340 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

HOW HE ESCAPED HE NEVER KNEW . Frontispiece 112 

/ 
FORDING THE YELLOW RIVER UNDER DIFFICULTIES . 26 

TAKING AN ALLIGATOR ALIVE . . . .34 

LANDER WAS PULLED OUT OF THE RIVER . . 46 

THE FIRST RIFLE DISCHARGE THEY HAD EVER HEARD . 54 

HE FIRED AT THE JAGUAR .... 76 

THE WHOLE POPULATION FLED . . . .96 

SPEKE HARANGUED THE EXCITED WARRIORS . 122 

THE PONY GOT RESTIVE . . . . .128 

THE ELK CHARGED THE HOUNDS . . . 170 

THE ROCK CAME CRASHING DOWN . . .184 

HE WAS THROWN DOWN . . . . 192 

AN INDIAN OF THE AMAZONS . . . .212 

THE BOATS WERE PROPELLED BY BEATING THE AIR 232 

THE LION WAS AT BAY ..... 242 

THEY TOWED IT THROUGH THE CANON . . 314 



ADVENTURES 
ON THE GREAT RIVERS 

i 

CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER 

The Abbe* Hue, the great French Missionary, travels in China and 
Tartary — Journeys from Pekin towards Thibet— Passage of the Yellow 
River a formidable difficulty — River in high flood — A wide belt of 
mud to be crossed first — Haggling with the Chinese ferrymen — 
Hoang-ho banks reached — Night spent in a river temple — A struggle 
to get a camel on board — An unwieldy boatload — A novel plan — 
Another mud stretch — The "Little River" — Rescue by a native 
Christian. 

The Yellow River, otherwise the Hoang-ho, carries 

down to the ocean one of the mightiest of river floods 

the crossing of which at certain seasons involves the 

adventurous traveller in difficulties and dangers to daunt 

all but the boldest and most determined spirits. It was 

at such a season that the attempt was made by the 

intrepid Abbe Hue, the famous French missionary, who 

some sixty years ago penetrated into then unknown 

regions of China and Tartary. He was travelling with 

his companions westward from Pekin, his intention being 
2 17 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

to reach, if human energy and endurance could accomplish 
it, Lhassa, the far-off and mysterious capital of Thibet. 

One of the most formidable difficulties in his way was 
the Yellow River, whose swollen and dangerous stream 
he must cross, or, as the only alternative, he must turn 
with the river towards the north, and follow its banks for 
an enormous stretch, even to the Great Wall of China 
and the vast desert of Gobi, a thing not to be thought of. 

As soon as the Abbe made known to the natives his 
intention of crossing the Hoang-ho, he was met by a 
universal chorus of objections and sinister forebodings. 
The passage was declared to be utterly impossible, for 
the river had been in high flood for more than a week. 
The waters had risen over the banks and had flooded 
many a square mile of the adjoining lowlands. The in- 
formation came like a thunder-clap on the missionary 
party. It was not even the rainy season ; on the contrary, 
it was the middle of the dry season, and that year it had 
been specially dry. The Chinese boats were miserable, 
the current was swift and impetuous ; and as not only 
men and baggage, but horses, and, far worse, camels, had 
to be ferried over, the passage seemed to be hazardous 
indeed. 

A survey from a little eminence proved the full truth 

of the reports. The Hoang-ho could scarcely be called a 

river ; it was rather a vast sea that met the eyes of the 

travellers. The course of the river itself could not be 

ms&de out. For leagues on either side, the ground was 

either out of sight, hidden under the floods, or it was 

thick with mud that made it dangerous to traverse. In 

many places were wide and deep bogs, where the conse- 

18 



CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER 

quences of a fall would almost certainly be fatal. To get 
even to the river bank, would need, according to the most 
favourable prophecies, fully three days — days of hardship, 
fatigue and risk. Nevertheless, the task must be faced. 

Next morning the party set out, having prudently laid 
in a stock of food for several days, in case they should be 
kept prisoners by the inundations. The Tartar with 
whom they had spent a couple of days, pointed out to 
them a faint band of mist in the far distance. That mist, 
he informed them, marked the bed of the river itself. 
The stream was held in at ordinary times by a dike or 
embankment, for its waters were always at a level above 
that of the country through which it flowed. The old 
man pointed to a pagoda towards which the travellers 
were to steer their way. 

The camels were soon floundering up to their knees in 
thick mud, or rather in a sticky mixture of mud and 
water, which rested on a layer of somewhat firmer mud. 
A horse and a mule, which the travellers had with them, 
fared hardly better. In no long time the animals were in 
a deplorable condition, trembling in every limb, covered 
with a lather of sweat, and keeping themselves on their 
feet only with the greatest possible difficulty. The whole 
morning was occupied in traversing a couple of miles, to 
a spot where stood a wretched water-sodden village, with 
its few inhabitants in a deplorable condition. 

Beyond the village no dry land at all appeared; the 

country in front was an immense lake, stretching away up 

and down stream far beyond the travellers' view. This 

vast sheet of water must be crossed if they would reach 

the bank of the river, and the leader of the expedition 

19 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

began to bargain with the natives of the miserable village 
for their assistance in the passage. The fellows replied 
that they would certainly carry across men, baggage, 
horse, mule, and camels — everything — and for a mere 
nothing. Hue pressed them to name the exact sum they 
wanted, but to no purpose. The wily villagers answered 
that they and the strangers were all brothers ; that, if 
they were not so poor, they would take the party across 
without reward of any kind. At last, driven into a corner, 
they declared that as the travellers were teachers of 
religion, they would charge only the nominal sum of two 
thousand sapeks. The price was simply ridiculous, and the 
Abbe was not the man to be imposed upon in that way. 
" If you really want to let out your boats," he cried, " it 
is useless to ask two thousand sctpeks. But if you are 
prepared to take five hundred, bring up your boats, and 
let us get in at once, for we have already lost much 
time." 

This seemed to determine the men, and they began to 
lead the animals to the boats. What was the chagrin 
of the Europeans, when one of the boatmen cried out to 
his fellows — before a thing had been put on board — "We 
are not in luck to-day ; we shall have only fifteen hundred 
sapeks to divide amongst the eight of us." 

" Fifteen hundred sctpeks ! " exclaimed the Abbe, " You 

are mocking us; we will return," and the party turned 

their backs on the boatmen and began to retrace their 

steps. At last somebody came to the rescue as mediator, 

and, after much bargaining, the sum to be paid was fixed 

at eight hundred sapeks, still a high figure, but the best 

terms that could be obtained. 

20 



CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER 

The embarkation was effected very quickly, and a start 
made. Special precautions had to be taken with respect 
to the camels. A man went on before in a little boat, 
and with a long pole constantly sounded the depth of the 
water. The course marked out by the boatman was 
closely and carefully followed by one of the drivers, who, 
mounted on one of the camels, led the other two. It was 
very slow progress, and at times only the heads and the 
humps of the animals appeared above the surface of the 
lake. As the camels were unable to swim, and the ground 
on which they trod was slippery and full of holes, it needed 
only a single false step to engulf the poor brutes, and then 
they would almost to a certainty have been lost. 

However, all risks passed, the party were at length 
landed on the bank or dike bounding the waters of the 
Hoang-ho itself. Along this embankment they held their 
way for a good half-hour, and reached the spot where it 
had been indicated to them that the ferry-boat lay. The 
boatmen immediately declared that it was impossible to 
make the passage of the river that day, for it was now the 
hour of sunset. In the morning they would be ready to 
convey the party across. 

" Very well," returned the missionaries, " in the morning 
we will start. But let us settle the price at once, so that 
we may lose no time in bargaining when we want to 
set off." 

This plan was not to the liking of the ferryman, who 

would have much preferred to leave that detail till the 

last moment, when in all likelihood the travellers would 

be willing to give a much larger sum. A repetition of 

the scene in the village away back beyond the lake ensued. 

21 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

The most preposterous terms were at first named. Luckily 
there were rival ferrymen, and the competition at length 
brought the sum down to a more moderate figure, namely 
a thousand sa/peks. This was still a large sum, but the 
labour and difficulties attendant on the passage would 
be great. 

The travellers passed the night in a small temple that 
stood not far away on the dike, a temple dedicated to the 
god of the river, the deity represented by a hideous little 
idol. They dared not trust their baggage in the cottages 
of the natives, knowing well how little their honesty was 
to be reckoned on. 

A magnificent moonlight night followed, the Yellow 
Rwer presenting a fine spectacle as the wayfarers watched 
its majestic floods swirl by in the glittering radiance. 
Placing their baggage in a pile, the travellers lay down on 
the floor of the temple in such a way as to surround and 
thus protect their property. The ugly image with mon- 
strous protruding eyes stood on its pedestal within. The 
weary men were just dropping off to sleep, when a native 
with a paper lantern in his hand appeared, and, prostrat- 
ing himself before the idol, burnt some incense. Then 
suddenly the fellow took to his heels. In the morning 
the reason for his precipitate flight was found ; the Abbe's 
handkerchief was missing. He remembered that he had 
placed it on the window-sill. 

Morning arrived, the party proceeded to get themselves 

and their belongings on board the boats. The difficulty 

was with the camels. At all times these animals are hard 

to persuade to enter a small boat, and there was one of 

Hue's camels, a whitish-coloured animal, which had never 

22 



CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER 

been known to take to a vessel of any sort. The Abbe 
would have none of the baggage put on board till he had 
seen what could be done with the camels, saying that 
such a proceeding would be useless in the event of the 
animals refusing utterly to embark. The ferrymen were 
sarcastic, and inquired where the camels came from that 
they should decline to get into people's boats. They 
declared that if the white camel had never before crossed 
a river he was going to do so now. 

One of the fellows seized hold of the string in the camel's 
nose, while another began to belabour the poor beast un- 
mercifully with a thick cudgel he had fetched. The one 
tugged hard at the string, while the other laid on with 
the stick till he was weary. It was a sorry spectacle, and 
presently the Abbe refused to allow it to go on. The 
beast was trembling in every limb, while the blood 
dropped from its nose. It was plain the camel would 
sooner allow its legs to be broken than enter the boat. 

Here was a pretty pass ! The camels could not be left 

behind, yet here was the great river to be crossed. Not 

all the ingenuity of the Europeans could see a way out of 

the difficulty. At last one of the ferrymen jumped up, 

fired with a brilliant notion. He directed his companion 

to hold the string gently, and to keep the animal's feet as 

near the bows of the boat as possible. Then he went 

back for a few yards, and dashing forward flung himself 

with all his might against the animal's rear. The brute 

tottered under the shock, and his fore-legs gave way a 

little. A second and equally vigorous impetus behind 

would have brought him head first to the ground had he 

not, to save himself, thrown his feet forward, and so into 

23 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the boat ! The first step was gained ; and at length, by 
dint of much pushing and pulling, the camel that had 
never before entered a boat was now fairly aboard, the 
party greatly relieved and delighted. The two other 
camels were got on board by the use of similar tactics, 
and the craft prepared to make a start. 

But the ferryman would not leave the shore till the 
camels should bring their unwieldy bodies into a kneeling 
condition. If they remained standing, a movement on 
their part might well capsize the boat, and pitch men, 
baggage and animals into the racing waters of the swollen 
Hoang-ho. The man's proceedings to effect his purpose 
were amusing to a degree. He went from animal to 
animal, pulling down each in succession. But as soon as 
he left one of the prostrate beasts to go to another, the 
first rose to its feet again. Then worse followed. The 
big white camel, bearing in mind the treatment it had 
lately received from this very fellow, greeted him with a 
copious discharge into his face of half-chewed grass from 
its jaws. The boatman returned the compliment by 
spitting in the animal's face. 

The other camels now followed the lead of their white 
brother, and soon the ferrymen were quite covered with 
the green and evil-smelling pulp the angry brutes spat 
upon them each time they came near. And all the while 
the progress made in the work of bringing the camels to 
a kneeling position was just none. For a time the on- 
lookers were intensely amused, but at last the camel- 
drivers exerted their authority, and the beasts were 
brought to and kept in the required position. 

Once on the river, the boatmen, of whom there were 

24 



CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER 

four, found their task an arduous one. The current was 
running with such strength that it was hardly possible by 
any exertions to make headway against it. Nevertheless 
the boat was at length, though very slowly, driven into 
the middle of the river. At this movement one of the 
camels suddenly rose to its feet, almost upsetting the 
craft altogether. For the instant the danger was ex- 
treme. Unsteady with the swaying it had itself caused, 
the poor brute, yielding to every movement of the boat, 
seemed certain to bring about an immediate and dire 
catastrophe. The boatmen, swearing violently, cried that 
if the travellers did not look after their camels the whole 
party would be engulfed and swept away by the flood. 
One of the attendants made for the animal in a moment, 
and fortunately induced it to kneel again, thus saving the 
boat from disaster. 

The farther side was at last reached safely, and all 
gladly prepared to disembark. The horse was so eager 
to set foot on solid land again that it leapt overboard 
somewhat prematurely. It slipped on the mud and fell 
over on its side. But there was no better landing ground 
for the rest of the party, and the travellers had to take off 
their shoes and wade through the slimy mud with their 
baggage, which they carried to a little hillock hard by, 
so that it might be clear of the damp. 

The Hoang-ho proper had thus been passed without 

serious mishap, if with difficulty and danger. But there 

remained the vast stretch of mud, and bog, and water on 

the farther side of it. Last of all there was a final task in 

store, the crossing of the Paga-Gol, or the Little River, a 

branch of the main stream. This lay at some distance 

25 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

beyond the belt of inundated country. M. Hue inquired 
of the ferrymen how long it would take to traverse the 
flooded tract. The man's reply was that it would be noon 
first. " By the evening," he went on, " you will reach the 
banks of the Little River ; to-morrow you will be on dry 
ground again." 

Disheartening enough the missionaries found the pros- 
pect thus held out to them. And their experiences on 
the way did not tend to cheer their spirits. In truth, 
their progress on this farther side of the river was as try- 
ing as it had been through the former inundated belt. 
Not a sign of any road was to be seen ; every trace had 
been wiped out by the floods. Not seldom they would 
descry ahead what seemed to be a grassy flat and so to 
promise a firmer footing for man and beast, but on a 
nearer approach it was found to be a horrible quagmire, 
whose surface was covered with a thick scum of green 
slime. The utmost circumspection had to be observed by 
all, lest an incautious step should overwhelm one or other 
of the party in some gulf of liquid mud. 

The animals, wearied with their exertions, became at 
length alarmed, and were scarce able to proceed at all. 
Then they were encumbered by the tall stems of the 
marsh plants twisting around their legs and throwing 
them down. One of them fell three times, but lucidly 
each time on fairly firm ground ; had it been otherwise, 
the luckless beast would certainly have been smothered 
in the mud. 

But the resolution of the leaders and their servants met 

with its reward, and late in the day the party reached a 

fairly dry district where they found a small settlement of 

26 




Fording the Yellow River under Difficulties 



CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER 

Tartars, wretched though the situation was for human 
habitation. The poor natives were very hospitable, and 
the travellers were refreshed with tea. 

The Little River, notwithstanding its name, proved a 
formidable obstacle in the way of the missionary band. 
To recount all the details of the crossing would be to 
repeat in the main the narrative of the passage of the 
principal stream itself. But there is one incident worth 
relating. The river being shallow, and, so it was averred 
by the guide employed, fordable for the animals, this 
guide rode the horse in front, leading the mule, while one 
of the camel-drivers, a young native converted to Chris- 
tianity, followed with his animals. The rest of the band 
crossed by boat. All went well, and indeed most pros- 
perously, till suddenly loud cries arose from the camels, 
and those animals, together with the horse and the mule, 
were perceived to be in difficulties, floundering in deep 
water in a struggling and helpless fashion. It was at 
once evident that the fellow who had undertaken to act 
as guide through the shallows was quite incompetent, and 
ignorant of the state of the river and its bed. 

To turn back instantly was the only safe course to pur- 
sue. But the poor beasts had by this time become so 
frightened that it was found impossible to induce them to 
retrace their steps. To go on meant destruction. In vain 
the guide used all his efforts ; the horse he was riding 
would not budge an inch. With only their heads out of 
the water the animals were in the greatest danger of 
being swept off by the rolling current. To make matters 
worse, the guide presently fell headlong into the water, 

and for a time disappeared. To the relief of the rest of 

27 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the party, the man was seen at length, his head just 
above the surface. Matters were certainly in bad plight, 
and it seemed likely that all the animals would perish. 

At this awkward juncture the young Christian convert, 
the camel-driver, with admirable courage and devotion to 
his master, threw off his clothes and sprang into the 
rapidly flowing flood. The water was icy cold, and the 
danger great. But the beasts seemed to gain confidence, 
and allowed themselves to be gradually led back to land 
again, to the joy of the grateful Abbe and his companions. 
The services of a more competent guide were secured, 
and at the second attempt all were got over in safety. 
The Yellow River had been crossed at last ! 



28 



II 

WITH WATERTON ON THE DEMERARA RIVER 

"Waterton the famous naturalist — An adventurous life — On the Demerara 
River — Fever — Foot injured — A deadly coulacanara snake — A labarri 
made to poison himself — Baiting for a cayman — -A formidable hook — 
Hook and bait swallowed — "Waterton faces the brute — Jumps upon 
its back — Rides for forty yards — Another labarri adventure — Vampires 
and their attacks — A second coulacanara found under a fallen tree- — 
"Waterton and two niggers on the watch — Snake comes forth and is 
held down with spear — "Waterton and negro throw themselves upon 
him — Snake made to coil itself round lance — Bagged ! — Snake in 
bedroom all night — Ten men release it from sack in the morning — 
Snake killed. 

A couple of generations ago few names were better 
known in England than that of the famous naturalist, 
explorer, and traveller, Charles Waterton, and few were 
the naturalists who did not make a pilgrimage to his 
ancestral home, Walton Hall, near Wakefield. And what 
a home that was ! There collected together were the 
treasures he had secured on his many wanderings, the 
whole forming such a sight as was not to be seen in any- 
other private house in England, or in the world, for that 
matter. 

The naturalist's travels extended not only over Europe 
and other more or less civilized parts of the world, but 
over the outlying portions of the United States, the West 

Indies, and a considerable tract of South America. His 

29 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

adventures were exceptionally numerous, and of every 
variety. Fevers, falls, encounters with savage or poison- 
ous animals, narrow escapes from drowning, exciting ex- 
periences with caymans and other strange beasts — all 
these with many more fell to his share. 

At one time he was making his way up the Demerara 
River. The weather had been very damp of late, and 
Waterton took a chill to which he paid little attention. 
His neglect soon issued in a bad attack of yellow fever. 
His pulse ran up to a hundred and twenty, and then 
increased till it reached a hundred and thirty. He was 
racked by a frightful headache. He bled himself, taking 
away from his veins sixteen ounces of blood. This had 
the effect of reducing the pulse and relieving the head- 
ache. His feet he placed in hot water, and he applied 
cold water to his head. He dosed himself with jalap, 
calomel, castor oil, and what not, and in the end came 
safely through a most dangerous time. He had been, as 
he himself says, at the very gates of death. 

He had no sooner recovered from the fever, than he 
injured his foot in the course of an eager chase after a 
red-headed woodpecker. In his excitement he trod on a 
stump of wood, which entered his foot and made a very 
serious wound. Again he was his own doctor. The chief 
remedy he employed was a poultice of warm and soft cow's 
dung. In three weeks he was able to get out again in his 
canoe and indulge his hunting and collecting propensities. 

Waterton seemed to have a strange immunity from 
injury from snakes; indeed, his coolness and courage in 
facing even the most deadly of the tribe was astounding. 
Here is a sample. Seeing a young snake of the coula- 



THE DEMERARA RIVER 

canara species crawling along, he instantly dropped on one 

knee and seized the animal by the tail with his left 

hand. Then with his right holding out his hat as a sort 

of shield, he held himself in readiness. The snake, of 

course, darted its head at him, opening its mouth and 

setting up a loud hissing. Waterton waited till the 

brute's jaws were within a couple of feet of him, and 

then struck a violent blow with his hat-protected fist. 

For an instant the snake was stunned, and before it could 

recover itself, the naturalist had it gripped fast by the 

throat, just below the head, so that it was impossible for 

it to bite. The coulacanara wound itself round his arm 

and body, but was not strong enough to crush him. A 

negro attendant, who came up attracted by the noise, 

turned almost sick at the sight, and made for home as fast 

as his legs could carry him. 

Wishing to try an experiment, Waterton managed to 

catch alive a labarri, one of the deadliest of the snakes of 

the district. As usual he gripped the animal so near the 

jaw that it was unable to bite him. To do this " only 

required a little resolution and coolness," he tells us. He 

then held a bit of stick to the head, and the brute seized 

it at once, the fang piercing the wood. The liquid that 

was squirted out through the hollow fang was of a deep 

yellow, something like strong camomile tea. This was the 

deadly poison. He forced the labarri to bite itself, and it 

buried its fang in its own body. In the course of a few 

minutes the snake appeared to be dying ; then, strange to 

say, it began to recover. Soon it w T as not a whit the 

worse, and Waterton had proved that the reptile was proof 

against its own poison. 

31 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

But the Yorkshire squire's adventures in the matter of 
cayman hunting were the most extraordinary. In fact, 
when he first committed them to print, he was mercilessly 
ridiculed by almost the whole English people, who were 
quite incredulous. Yet the genuineness of Waterton's 
account is now accepted by almost everybody. 

The cayman is a kind of alligator, and a frightful 
creature. In almost every way these brutes are repulsive. 
Their ferocity and cunning make them most dangerous ; 
they emit an awful sound, long-continued and penetrating, 
and a smell so disgusting as to be unbearable. Waterton 
made up his mind that he would possess himself of a live 
specimen, a proposal that staggered the negro attendants, 
and made even the Indian hunters shrug their shoulders 
incredulously. But the naturalist was not a man to be 
easily daunted. 

For several nights unsuccessful attempts were made. A 

huge hook was baited and placed in the water. The 

cayman would be tempted and would get the bait into his 

mouth. Then the men would begin to pull, but too soon, 

and the animal letting drop his mouthful would make off. 

Waterton now had a stage put up near the water's edge, 

intending to shoot the beast therefrom. Unluckily in 

the midst of the preparations the men were interrupted 

by the roar of a jaguar at no great distance. Waterton 

kept on with his work, but his people rushed off after the 

jaguar. The animal proved to be a very fine specimen. 

One of the negroes took aim, but the ball probably missed 

the beast, for he at once darted back into the woods. As 

no trace of blood could be found, it was evident the black's 

fright had interfered with the accuracy of his aim. 

32 



THE DEMERARA RIVER 

Four fruitless nights were spent, and yet the cayman 
was no nearer being caught than before, so the naturalist 
determined to try another plan, namely, to dispense with 
his negro helpers and call in some Indian hunters, whom 
however, he had to bribe to undertake the business. They 
laughed at a shark hook Waterton proposed to try, saying 
that such a thing would not hold the cayman. And this 
prediction proved to be a true one, for the brute came and 
took the hook into his mouth, but would not swallow it. 
The Indians now set about fashioning a contrivance of 
their own. It consisted of four stout pieces of wood a 
foot long and barbed at both ends. These were fastened 
securely round a stoat rope and baited. 

This formidable apparatus was suspended in a suitable 
place, and the party went off to their hammocks and to 
sleep, the hook to be left till morning. Quite early, 
however, one of the Indians went silently to see how 
matters were progressing. A tremendous shout from him 
brought all the rest to the spot in the shortest possible 
time. Waterton stayed a couple of minutes to " don his 
trousers," he tells us; the Indians had none to don. 

They found that a cayman had swallowed the huge 
barbed contrivance and some of the rope, and was fast 
enough. Waterton declared that he intended to get the 
brute out of the water alive, so that the hide should be un- 
injured, and thus a perfect specimen. On this the Indians 
expressed the utmost astonishment and incredulity ; they 
did more, they declined to assist in so hazardous a busi- 
ness, saying that the cayman would eat them all. They 
wanted to shoot the animal with arrows, but the English- 
man would have none of it, as the skin would then be 
3 33 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

spoiled for his purpose. He rated the party for their 

cowardice. But not a man would stir to help. 

In this pass, Waterton bethought him of another device. 

Taking the mast of the canoe, a pole eight feet long and 

the thickness of a man's wrist, he tied the sail round the 

end of it. Then, dropping on one knee, he held the pole 

before him as a soldier holds his bayonet, intending to 

thrust the thing down the cayman's throat, should the 

brute in his fury rush out upon him. He held in readiness 

also a formidable knife. His men, seven in number, were 

now told off to pull at the rope and thus drag the animal 

fairly out of the water, a task the fellows undertook in 

fear and trembling, being reconciled to the position only 

by the fact that the master was between them and the 

danger. They were instructed to slacken the rope at once 

should the animal begin to plunge. 

The pull began, and the cayman was compelled to show 

his face above water, an ugly sight to the man kneeling 

there in frcnt of him. But the beast plunged so 

desperately that the rope had to be slackened. Another 

try, this time the men being told to pull, whatever 

happened, till they had the brute out of the water. For 

an instant, the naturalist stood in front, gazing steadfastly 

into the cayman's eye.. He could see the animal was 

afraid of him. 

Now comes the extraordinary part of the tale. Suddenly 

throwing down his pole, Waterton sprang on the animal's 

back, turning in his spring so that when seated he had 

his face towards the head. Then with wonderful pluck and 

dexterity he seized the fore legs and brought them up 

over the back and held them tight in that position ! 

34 







^^^S^T^; 



p***^ 







Taking an Alligator Alive 



Much fun was made of Waterton's account of his ride on an alligator at the time his 
book was published, but it is now accepted as perfectly true. 



THE DEMERARA RIVER 

The beast had been dazed at first, but now he came to 
himself, and at once made the most desperate efforts to 
escape and to attack his captor. His tail lashed violently, 
but could not reach to do any harm to the ride*-; the 
plungings of the victim, however, made that rider's seat 
anything but an easy one. The fellows now cheered and 
roared with delight, pulling stoutly and drawing the cay- 
man and Waterton over the sand, till a distance of forty 
yards had been covered. But what if the rope had broken 
under the strain ? As the naturalist says, " there would 
have been every chance of going down to the regions 
under water with the cayman." 

The brute's struggles at length exhausted it, and then 
the victor coolly proceeded to tie up its jaws and fasten its 
fore legs in the position in which they had been held for 
the ride. After another severe struggle the animal was 
taken to the canoe, and thence to the settlement, where it 
was killed. 

It was a marvel that Waterton did not fall a victim to 

these alligators, so daring was he, and so often exposed to 

their attacks. Once he was in a canoe on the same river 

when he saw a very fine labarri snake in a bush by the 

brink. He fired at it and evidently wounded it badly. 

Seeing that it had not much life left in it, he leant over 

the boat to seize the reptile by the throat. The steersman 

in mortal terror turned the boat's course, and so suddenly 

that the naturalist, who had caught hold of the bush, was 

pulled instantly out of the craft and thrown into the 

water. Here he was with the deadliest of all the Guiana 

snakes in front of him, and possible caymans about ! 

The man's marvellous good luck attended him as usual. 

35 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

One of the crew quickly reversed the rudder and brought 
the boat to the side again, and Waterton was pulled in all 
haste into it. So keen was he after his specimen, however, 
that he gripped the labarri by its neck and carried it 
aboard with him. The terror of the crew was intense, 
as may well be imagined. But the Englishman assured 
them that the snake was too far gone to do any mischief! 
The next morning a huge cayman passed the boat near 
this spot. It was the largest of its kind any man 
there had ever seen, measuring at least thirty feet in 
length ! 

This extraordinary man seemed actually to court diffi- 
culties and even injuries at times. He had a strange wish 
to receive a bite from a vampire bat, and would sleep with 
his foot outside his hammock in the hope that one would 
attack him. But though his followers and companions 
now and then were severely wounded by vampires, which 
carried away a big triangular piece of flesh at a bite, and 
though the stables had to be guarded at night with wire 
netting to keep the horses safe, yet Waterton himself 
never got a single bite from the blood-sucking bat. 

Perhaps, however, no episode in all Waterton's adven- 
tures more clearly exhibits the man's marvellous coolness 
when dealing with dangerous reptiles, than that of the 
second coulacanara snake he tackled, a monster of its kind. 
The naturalist had long been wanting such a specimen, 
and had offered a reward to the negro who should discover 
one for him. He had not long to wait, for one Sunday 
a black ran up in hot haste to tell the master that his 
dog had found a snake, of a rare and poisonous kind, 

under a fallen tree. 

36 



THE DEMERARA RIVER 

Waterton sprang up, and, seizing a lance, rushed off, 
calling upon the negro to follow. Barefoot and with 
nothing on but his shirt and trousers, the Englishman ran, 
two negroes also joining in the adventure. Cautiously 
he advanced to the spot and soon found he had to do with 
a formidable creature of the coulacanara breed, which, 
though only fourteen feet long, as it proved, was thicker 
in the body than a boa-constrictor of four-and-twenty feet. 
Waterton found later on, after he had skinned the animal, 
that he could easily get his head into its mouth. 

He resolved to take the reptile alive, if possible, seeing 
that the day was far advanced, and that if the animal 
were killed that evening, it would be impossible to keep 
the carcass till the morning in a state fit for dissection. 
This resolution on the part of the master threw the negroes 
into an agony of terror. But they were still more alarmed 
when the Englishman, taking a cutlass, threatened to cut 
them down if they ran away. Though he said this with a 
smile, it was enough. 

So one of the blacks stood near with the cutlass, while 
the second man kept guard behind, lance in hand. Mean- 
while the master cut away the intervening twigs, working 
with the utmost caution and in dead silence. Then the 
snake was seen to protrude his head from his lair, and 
appeared to be on the point of coming out, whereupon all 
three men retired quietly to a little distance. The terror 
of the blacks increased every moment, and they evidently 
began to think they were in for a very dangerous adventure. 
They implored the master to be allowed to run for a gun, 
but once more the naturalist grimly threatened them with 
the cutlass if they stirred. 

37 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

At length a moment favourable for operations arrived. 
Waterton seized the lance and began to advance towards 
the coulacanara, the negroes horror-stricken and but faintly 
consoled by the fact that the master stood between them 
and the snake. Indeed, the Englishman confesses in his 
book that his own heart, in spite of all he could do, beat 
quicker than usual. The onset can hardly be more 
graphically described than in his own words. 

" The snake had not moved ; and on getting up to him 
I struck him with the lance on the near side, just behind 
the neck, and pinned him to the ground. That moment 
the negro next to me seized the lance and held it firm in 
its place, while I dashed head-foremost into the den to 
grapple with the snake, and to get hold of his tail before 
he could do any mischief. On being pinned to the ground 
with the lance he gave a tremendous loud hiss, and the 
little dog ran away, howling as he went. We had a sharp 
fray in the den, the rotten sticks flying on all sides, and 
each party struggling for superiority. I called out to the 
second negro to throw himself upon me, as I found I was 
not heavy enough. He did so, and the additional weight 
was of great service. I had now got firm hold of his tail, 
and after a violent struggle or two he gave in, finding 
himself overpowered." 

In short, within a few more minutes, the snake found 

himself a prisoner, securely bound by his captor's braces. 

More, the naturalist actually contrived to make the animal 

twist itself round the shaft of the lance before it was tied 

up ! With their prize the three men left the field of 

action, the master supporting the head and preventing 

accidents, while the men supported the belly and tail. 

38 



THE DEMERARA RIVER 

All the way the reptile fought hard for freedom, but in 
vain ; it was compelled to accompany its captors. It took 
a long time to convey the animal to the house, the weight 
being almost too much for the three men. 

Darkness came down swiftly, and it was too late to 
think of dissecting the snake that night. On the other 
hand, if it had been killed then, the body would have 
become putrid before morning. So the extraordinary 
Englishman coolly popped the huge animal into a big 
and strong sack he had. The sack was firmly tied at the 
mouth and then placed on the floor. As the snake was 
loose in the bag, he was able to wriggle about to his 
heart's content. But it was quite impossible for it to 
make a hole in the sack, the canvas yielding whenever 
pressure was put upon any part of it. Thus the coulana- 
cara was left to his fate till the morning. 

His captor proceeded to his bed, in a loft just above, 
the floor of which was rotten and full of great holes ! " I 
cannot say he allowed me to have a quiet night," Waterton 
writes ; " he was very restless and fretful. However, 
nothing serious occurred." 

The end of the adventure was worthy of the rest. With 
ten negroes to help him, Waterton in the morning untied 
the bag, keeping the snake down by main force. Then he 
cut its throat, and it bled like an ox. The dissection 
occupied him the whole day. He found that the teeth 
were of no use to the animal for the purposes of mastica- 
tion, but were merely for seizing and holding its prey. 



39 



Ill 

THE NIGER MYSTERY SOLVED 

Clapperton's failure to trace the Niger to its mouth — Richard Lander, his 
servant, undertakes another expedition, in company with his brother 
John Lander — They arrive at Badagry — Human sacrifices — Land 
journey to Boussa on the Niger — Attack by twenty savages — Some 
relics of Mungo Park's expedition recovered — Alarming demon strations 
at the mouth of the Tchadda — Coolness of the Landers — A critical 
moment — Damuggoo and its friendly king — Attack by one of a crowd 
of canoes at Kirree— Narrow escape — Natives quarrel as to booty — 
The expedition party made prisoners — Native canoes overturned — A 
terrifying scene — A few things restored — King Obie demands enor- 
mous ransom — King Boy buys prisoners — Carried in war canoes down 
stream — Further demands by King Forday — The mystery solved. 

Not the least important of notable geographical dis- 
coveries are those which have been made by men of 
humble, or of comparatively humble birth. The results 
of the journeyings of Richard Lander and his brother John 
well illustrate this. The wonderful but ill-fated expedi- 
tions of Mungo Park had left unsettled the great Niger 
question. The famous Scotch explorer had traced that 
mysterious river to Boussa, where he was killed. After 
him had come Clapperton, who had travelled a little 
farther down the stream, dying at Sackatoo. With 
Clapperton had been Richard Lander, his servant, and this 
noble fellow was filled with a burning desire to finish what 

his master had begun, namely, to follow the great Niger 

40 



THE NIGER MYSTERY SOLVED 

down to the ocean, if it should prove to go so far, or, if 
otherwise, to see what did become of its mighty floods. 

In England, to which he returned after Clapperton's 
decease, Richard Lander met with but little encourage- 
ment, presumably on account of his lowly position. At 
last, however, he was sent out at the head of another 
expedition, taking with him his brother John as his 
lieutenant. . The money furnished for the work assigned 
to him was barely enough, and the sole reward he was to 
expect for success was a gratuity of a hundred pounds. 
The two brothers landed at Badagry, on the Gulf of 
Guinea, where the king of the district at once inspected 
their baggage, and took for himself whatever his fancy 
coveted. He further made extraordinary demands ; requir- 
ing, for instance, such things as four regimental coats 
similar to those worn by the King of England, forty others 
somewhat less grand, and the like! All this before he 
would allow the explorers to pass through his territory, or 
to enjoy his protection. 

Badagry was found to be a populous and important 
place, but the travellers were pestered all day long by the 
curiosity of the inhabitants. At last they had to beat a 
hasty retreat from the town in order to avoid a horrible 
spectacle, the murder of three hundred people in cold 
blood. These victims were required to follow into the 
other world a chief who had just died. One of the chiefs 
wives was made to swallow poison while her grave was 
being dug before her eyes ; a second wife hid herself but 
was discovered. It is more than probable this poor 
woman perished too. 

Travelling by Eyeo and Keeshee, the Landers found 

41 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

themselves in a country infested with dangerous wild 
beasts, and by still more dangerous savages. A score of 
these latter attacked the caravan, and things seemed bad 
for the explorers. But when one of the brothers levelled 
his gun at them, the whole black gang immediately took 
to their heels. After a long, roundabout, and perilous 
journey the Landers at length arrived at Boussa, on the 
Niger. Here they intended to begin their voyage of 
discovery. The king and queen of the country professed 
to be very friendly towards the travellers, and even wept 
for the death of Captain Clapperton ! Lander gave them 
various little trinkets, over which their majesties squab- 
bled like little children. 

For various reasons, wise or otherwise, Richard Lander 
decided to ask permission to travel only to Youri and 
Bornou, and not to voyage the whole length of the Niger 
to the sea. His suspicions as to this monarch proved 
afterwards to have been without foundation. Youri was 
reached, the prince there professing great friendship. 
This man, however, was a wily and extortionate individual, 
demanding a hundred dollars for a single canoe. He made all 
kinds of excuses for dela}dng the travellers, and it seemed 
as if the latest Niger expedition were fated to end there. 
In their trouble the Landers sent a message to the King 
of Boussa, whom they had hitherto distrusted, and to their 
great joy, a strong warning was sent to the chief of Youri, 
and the journey was allowed to be resumed. 

The reception of the party at Wawa was curious. The 

prince for a while was unable to see the travellers officially, 

a messenger who was expected from Boussa not having 

yet arrived, and etiquette demanding that no reception 

' 42 



THE NIGER MYSTERY SOLVED 

should take place till then. So his majesty stood exactly 
like a statue, motionless, speechless, only coming back to 
life when the messenger appeared. When once the ice 
was broken the king proved friendly. He was so interested 
in the proposed voyage of discovery that he insisted on 
consulting an oracle, making a solemn inquiry as to whether 
the expedition would be successful. The answer given was 
a favourable one. 

The Englishmen had done everything in their power to 
trace and acquire all relics of Mungo Park and his dis- 
astrous expedition. They were specially desirous of 
possessing themselves of the great traveller's journal, 
and at last believed themselves to be on the right track. 
A peasant of the district had a book, which he produced ; 
to the extreme disappointment of the Landers the volume 
proved to be nothing but a book of nautical tables. There 
were a few papers in the leaves, but nothing of any great 
moment. 

Passing over various less important stages of the long 
voyage, we may follow the travellers to the town of Kacunda. 
Here they received from the peaceful inhabitants alarming 
accounts of the hostile and cruel disposition of the savage 
tribes lower down the river. The servants of the expedi- 
tion became terrified, and it required all the persuasions 
of the two brothers to induce their subordinates to con- 
tinue. Nothing very serious occurred, however, till they 
had entered a very large tributary river, three or four 
miles broad at the confluence with the Niger. On the 
bank of this great stream — the Tchadda, as they after- 
wards knew it to be — the explorers landed, being fatigued 

with- their exertions. A search for sticks for the fire 

43 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

resulted in the discovery of a village near, the occupants 
of which for the moment were all women. These imme- 
diately fled to the fields, where were the men of the 
settlement. 

In no long time one of Lander's men observed the 
approach of a savage and uncouth band, and at once cried 
out in alarm, " War is coming ! Oh, war is coming ! " 
There was cause for fear. The blacks carried a great 
variety of weapons, including even muskets. The number 
of men bearing down on the little expedition was far too 
great to admit of successful resistance, and the brothers 
determined at once to try to make peace. The coolness 
of the Englishmen at such a juncture was extraordinary. 
All round were crowds of fierce, yelling savages, bent on 
hostility and murder. Here is Lander's own account of 
the incident — 

" Throwing down our pistols, which we had snatched up 
in the first moment of surprise, my brother and I walked 
very composedly and unarmed towards the chief. As we 
approached him we made all the signs and motions we 
could with our arms, to deter him and his people from 
firing on us. His quiver was dangling at his side, his 
bow was bent, and an arrow, which was pointed at our 
breasts, already trembled on the string, when we were 
within a few yards of his person. This was a highly 
critical moment — the next might be our last. But the 
hand of Providence averted the blow; for just as the chief 
was about to pull the fatal cord, a man that was nearest 
him rushed forward and stayed his arm." 

The sequel was as extraordinary as it was unexpected. 

Kneeling, the white men held out their hands, which 

44 



THE NIGER MYSTERY SOLVED 

trembled like aspen leaves. The chief gazed on their 
faces, all the passions of his nature seeming to gleam 
through his dark eyes. All at once the black understood ; 
these men were no enemies, but friendly wayfarers. A 
revulsion of feeling came to him. " He dropped his head, 
eagerly grasped our proffered hands, and burst into tears. 
This was a sign of friendship ; harmony followed, and war 
and bloodshed were thought of no more. Peace and friend- 
liness now reigned among us." The subjects of the chief 
were not less delighted than their master, and for a time 
they displayed all the extravagant joy of little children. 
As Lander says, " It was a narrow escape ; in another 
minute our bodies would have been as full of arrows as a 
porcupine's is full of quills." 

At Damuggoo, lower down the Niger, the explorers met 
with a particularly friendly chief. Many of the people of 
the interior hereabouts had never before seen a white man, 
and while some of them regarded the Englishmen with 
wonder and alarm, others were highly amused. The chief 
promised to send canoes with the travellers down to the 
sea, if only they would wait a few days. Lander told his 
majesty how an account of this friendly reception would 
be given to the King of England later on, and the black 
seemed immensely impressed to learn that the great white 
chief would hear of all the doings at Damuggoo. When 
crowds of natives swarmed about the door of the hut 
assigned to the Englishmen, the dark-skinned monarch 
calmly recommended that the Landers should cut off 
the heads of them all ! 

But a change came over the prospects of the travellers 

at the town of Kirree, to which they came presently. A 

45 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

fleet of fifty big canoes advancing up the river encountered 
Richard Lander at this large market-town. The boats 
carried various flags, one of them, to Lander's delight, 
being the Union Jack. This apparently denoted friend- 
liness on the part of the natives who manned the boats, 
and Lander was under no apprehensions. He was quickly 
undeceived when a big negro on board one of the canoes 
made fierce signs to him to go to him. The Englishman 
hesitated, not unnaturally in the presence of hostile de- 
monstrations. In a moment the black crew had levelled 
their muskets at him. Lander's discretion was at such a 
juncture better than the courage he at first felt tempted 
to display. It would have been absurd on his part to 
attempt a struggle with so great a multitude of savage 
yelling negroes all well armed. The object of the un- 
friendly blacks was soon seen. The fellows leapt on board 
Lander's boat, and seized everything they could lay their 
hands upon. One of the prizes taken was the wife of 
Pascoe, a servant of the expedition. This was too much 
for Richard Lander, who at once threatened the chief of 
the blacks with his gun. The weapon was instantly 
snatched from his hand; in the end, however, he suc- 
ceeded in rescuing the woman. This was later on, when 
the enemy, having seized all they could, made for the 
shore. To the surprise and relief of the Englishman, none 
of the other canoes seconded the efforts of the robber crew, 
and thus he was emboldened to set off in chase of the 
thieves. 

All this time John Lander had been coming down the 
river in another boat, but two hours behind his brother. 

In the course of his voyage he met a craft containing a 

46 




One of the Natives pulled Lander out of the Water 



The canoes were crowded round the spot, their crews all being eager to share the booty, 
and Lander and his companions were thrown into the water. 



THE NIGER MYSTERY SOLVED 

couple of animals, which he at once recognized as the 
property of the expedition. He immediately gave chase, 
and managed to get back the stolen sheep and goat. 
What puzzled him was the fact that the animals were 
being carried off by only a couple of men. How it had 
come to pass that his brother had yielded to so small a 
force he could not in the least understand. His amaze- 
ment was vastly increased when presently he came upon 
the large fleet of canoes, with many European flags among 
them, and with his brother Richard on board one boat. 
John had hardly time to collect his thoughts when several 
of the canoes bore down upon him. As the boats were 
unusually large, and heavily armed, resistance was out of 
the question. His attempt to escape was speedily ended, 
two or three of the canoes being driven up against his 
own boat with such force that it was overturned, and 
Lander and his companions thrown into the water. John 
swam towards a canoe in which were a couple of women, 
thinking that they perhaps might show more pity than 
the men. Instantly a huge negro caught hold of him, 
and, lifting him out of the water, threw him down into 
the bottom of the boat, as if he had been a log of 
wood. 

A scene which might have been prophesied, under the 
circumstances, was presently witnessed. The canoes were 
crowded round the spot, their crews all being eager to 
share the booty. The inevitable result occurred ; several 
of the craft were capsized, and men, women and children 
were in a moment struggling for life in the waters, shout- 
ing and shrieking. John Lander at this instant came 

within sight of his brother again. Richard immediately 

47 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

held up his hand, pointing towards Heaven, as if to say, 

" Trust in God," and John, who in his despair had almost 

ceased to struggle, at once took courage, and made renewed 

efforts. At last he managed to reach his brother ; that is 

to say, he came alongside the canoe in which Richard was. 

The natives offered no objection to the latter throwing his 

shirt over John's naked body, but the half-drowned man 

was not allowed to get into the boat. The two brothers 

were in a luckless plight. 

But a turn in the tide of events was at hand, though 

they did not know it. Amongst the crew of the Landers 

were certain people from Damuggoo, and these in the 

excitement had been plundered equally with the white 

men. These blacks now began to cry aloud for justice, 

and they were seconded both by a number of the more 

important women of the town and by the Mohammedan 

inhabitants of the place. So a meeting was called in the 

market-place, and it was decided that the robber ringleader 

should be punished with death, while all the stolen goods 

that could be found should be restored to the owners. A 

curious scene followed, a medley of articles being brought 

to the place — books, medicine-chest, clothes, and John 

Lander's diary. But the goods lost were many, and some 

of them very valuable, including nine elephants' tusks. 

The plunderers were not disposed to give up their boot}' 

tamely, and a wild fight took place in the market. In the 

end order was restored. As for the expedition party, they 

were informed that they must be sent to the king of Eboe 

to be dealt with, the ruler of Kirree being absent from the 

country just then. 

Here then were the adventurous white men virtually 

48 



THE NIGER MYSTERY SOLVED 

prisoners, and they were escorted down the river by big 
war canoes. An odd regulation was made by their 
captors. The Niger god, said the negroes, had never 
seen a white man, and should he get a glance of them, 
canoes and all in them would suffer instant destruction. 
To avert so serious a disaster the Landers were compelled 
to lie all day long in the bottom of the boat, covered with 
thick mats. 

Obie, as the ruler of the Eboe country was called, 
proved to be less fierce than the brothers had been led to 
anticipate. They had, indeed, looked with dread upon 
their interview with that monarch. His handshake, how- 
ever, meant little or nothing, as the sequel showed. In 
truth, the difficulties facing the travellers now that their 
goal was all but reached, appeared likely to be amongst 
the most serious of their journey. Obie demanded an 
enormous ransom for the white prisoners, namely, twenty 
bars, or as much as would buy twenty slaves. Till that 
sum should be received from the white men or their 
friends, the king went on to say, they and their servants 
must remain at Eboe. That such a stipulation threw the 
brothers into consternation we may well believe. Where 
to obtain so great a sum of money they did not know. 

A most ridiculous thing now came to pass. A dispute 

arose as to which branch of the Niger delta the travellers 

should be permitted to use, should the ransom be brought, 

the Bonny branch, or the Brass branch. There was more 

in this squabble than might appear at first sight, for on 

the decision depended the disposal of the ransom money, 

seeing that it must go to the chief of the district through 

which the travellers passed. The dispute grew keen, and 
4 49 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the people of the Brass territory went so far as to swear 
that the Bonny arm of the river was dried up and no 
longer available for boats ! 

Now came in another ruler, King Boy. He proposed 
to pay to Obie the amount of his demand, and to take 
over the prisoners. But he first insisted on receiving 
from the Englishmen an order for the sum on Captain 
Lake, of the English ship Thomas, which was lying near 
the mouth of the Niger. Obie was delighted, and, handing 
over his captives to King Boy, requested the white men 
to give him a good character when they came to report 
on their voyage to the King of England ! King Boy 
embarked his purchases on board a very large canoe, and 
the journey down the river was resumed. In no long time 
the lands of Forday, another ruler, were reached, and he 
demanded an order for the price of four slaves. To enforce 
the keeping of the bargain, Forday detained John Lander 
and seven others, Richard being permitted to go on alone. 

With King Boy the elder brother sailed down the 

Niger, every hour nearing the sea and the end of his 

expedition. At last he came upon several foreign vessels 

lying at anchor, including the English ship. But to 

Richard's disgust and intense dismay, the captain of the 

British vessel refused to part with a single shilling. He 

waxed furious and abusive. King Boy was no less angry. 

He indeed seemed to stand a fair chance of losing every 

penny he had advanced to Obie, and he declined to carry 

Lander to Bonny, where were other English vessels. 

Leaving Richard, the black ruler rushed back to where 

John was confined, and there heaped on the prisoner's 

head every abuse his tongue could utter. " English 

50 



THE NIGER MYSTERY SOLVED 

captain no will !" he exclaimed fiercely, "you thief man; 
English captain no will ! " What would be the upshot 
of it all John did not know, and his apprehensions were 
not less than those of his brother, who was waiting for 
him lower down the river. 

To John Lander's surprise and delight, King Boy set 
free his prisoner, a day or two later, on the occasion of a 
feasting bout, and soon John beheld the waters of the 
ocean gleaming in the tropical moonlight — even as his 
brother had already done. What a moment it was for 
him we may faintly guess when he " could perceive in the 
distance the long-wished-for Atlantic, with the moonbeams 
reposing in peaceful beauty upon its surface, and could 
also hear the sea breaking and roaring over the sandy 
bar which stretches across the mouth of the river. The 
solemn voice of ocean never sounded more melodiously in 
my ear than it did at that moment. O ! it was enchanting 
as the harp of David ! " 

The long and hazardous journey of the intrepid brothers 
was at an end. The mighty waters of the Niger had 
yielded their long-hidden secret. Henceforth all the world 
would know of the rise, the course, the ending of that vast 
and hitherto mysterious stream. What great travellers 
like Park and Clapperton had in vain given their lives to 
accomplish, that the humble Landers had been permitted 
to achieve. 

It is worth while to add that the British Government 
eventually sent to the African chiefs the full amount of 
the various ransoms demanded. 



51 



IV 

THE WHITE CHIEF ON THE NILE 

Mr. Petherick, once British Consul for the Soudan, undertakes the explora- 
tion of the Upper Nile, in conjunction with the ivory trade — Starts from 
Khartoum — Crocodiles and hippopotamuses — The crocodile and the 
fellah — Daring attack by hippopotamus — Hostile demonstration from 
the shore — Conference with hostile chief — "White chief scores over 
black — A struggle for a tusk — Insulting conduct of chief — Rival 
expeditions in search of ivory come up the "White Nile — One of them 
comes to grief — Rejoicing amongst natives — Their arrogance — Plot to 
attack Mr. Petherick — Englishman with six men out in the bush 
stockades his camp — Six weeks' siege — Reinforcements come up — 
Reprisals made, on cattle-kraals of natives — A pitched battle — 
Signal victory for Englishman's forces — He astonishes the blacks by 
setting free every prisoner he had taken. 

Mr. John Petherick was, more than half-a-century 
ago, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul for the Soudan, under 
the rule of Mehemet Ali Pacha. On the death of this 
potentate he spent some years at El Obeid, where he 
carried on the gum-arabic trade. But in the year 1853 
Mr. Petherick began a series of excursions and explora- 
tions into the Upper Nile regions, for which kind of thing 
he seems to have always had a bent. Greater explorers 
than he, perhaps, have come before the world since his 
days, but he will always deserve a place amongst the 
upper ranks of African pioneers of exploration. It must 
not be forgotten that until close upon his times the Blue 

Nile had been thought to be the main feeder of that 

52 



THE WHITE CHIEF ON THE NILE 

Hystericus historic stream. But in the forties the White 
Nile had been followed for a considerable distance, the 
result of the investigations being the establishment of the 
fact that the White Nile is the Nile, and that the Blue 
Nile cannot at the best be considered as more than the 
chief tributary to the principal stream. 

Acquiring a suitable boat, and selecting a party of a 
score or so of likely Arabs, Mr. Petherick started, in 
November 1853, on his trip up the White Nile. He 
knew of the discoveries that had been made by the excel- 
lent French explorers, D'Arnaud, Thibaut and De Malzac, 
and he was anxious to emulate the achievements of those 
early pioneers. Besides the twenty Arabs, his party con- 
sisted of a dozen boatmen proper, and two Dinka in- 
terpreters. When the boat passed Khartoum the people 
turned out in their thousands to give the expedition a 
good send-off. Gradually civilization was left behind, and 
crocodiles and hippopotamuses began to be plentiful. 
These furnished good practice for the Arab musketeers, 
whom the leader of the expedition had for two months 
been drilling in the use of firearms. 

So bold were the crocodiles in that district that they 
would dart suddenly out of the river after a man on 
the bank. A curious proof of this was afforded by an 
experience that had just come to one of the natives. He 
was walking along the bank of the river, when all at once 
a huge crocodile dashed out of the water and made for 
him. The man had only time to leap down into the 
trench, where was one of the levers used for raising water. 
The brute thrust his head into this trench, which was 
open on the river side, and with such force that it became 

53 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

jammed. The crocodile, within a yard of the man, could 
get neither forward nor backward, but remained fixed 
there, with gaping jaws, and in a violent rage. The poor 
fellow, crouching helplessly at the end of the trench, 
awaited in extremest terror the moment when those awful 
jaws should close upon him with their fatal snap. Luckily 
for the man some of the villagers came to his help, and 
the animal was killed with lances. 

It became evident quite early in the voyage that the 
inhabitants of the regions through which they were 
passing were not disposed to give a friendly welcome to 
the new-comers. At one place a number of native horse- 
men appeared on the bank, and galloped along with the 
boat, showering insults on its occupants. The exploring 
party stood it all for a time, but at last fired a rifle over 
the heads of the fellows. Like magic the insulters fled 
and were seen no more. But it was not only against the 
explorers these men of Bagara made demonstrations. A 
little later on Mr. Petherick saw a curious sight, namely, a 
party of Bagara warriors set out on a warlike expedition 
against the Dinka tribe, or at least against one of the 
Dinka settlements. The warriors were all naked, and all 
rode bare-backed. Their weapons were spears. Coming 
to the Nile the men took off the bridles from the animals. 
The horses then swam across the broad river, the men 
simply placing a hand on the quarters to support them- 
selves. At the other side the bridles were replaced, and 
the troop of horsemen vanished quickly into the interior. 

Game, small and large, came the way of the expedition, 

of course, and the Englishman was able to give his men 

some signal proof of his ability as a marksman. His first 

54 




It was the first Rifle Discharge they had heard 



Half a century or so ago the blacks of the Upper Nile districts had hardly seen 
a white man. 



THE WHITE CHIEF ON THE NILE 

shot at a hippopotamus was made one evening when, 
hearing a cry and a crash, he rushed on deck. The vessel 
had had in tow a small boat which contained two or three 
sheep, and this boat a hippopotamus had crushed with his 
enormous jaws, breaking also the rope by which the boat 
was fastened to the ship. Mr. Petherick arrived just in 
time to note the beast disappearing below the surface, 
and to see half-a-dozen of his men leap into the river, 
which they did without hesitation. The Arabs managed 
to run the damaged boat ashore and save the sheep, but 
the hippopotamus had gone. The reckless disregard of 
such risks on the part of his men the leader had many 
opportunities of observing. Giraffes, elephants, and other 
bio: game fell to the rifles of the leader and his best 
shooters. 

But it is with the inhabitants of the Nile borders, and 
their attitude towards the party of discoverers, that 
Mr. Petherick's narrative is largely concerned, and his 
accounts of his dealings with them are of special interest. 
He started with the intention of making every possible 
advance in the way of friendliness towards the rude tribes 
with whom he would have to come in contact. At the 
same time he was fully determined to carry out the plans 
he had formed, and to secure for himself, in spite of all 
opposition, a free passage up and down the river. Almost 
at once he began a regular system of trading and barter 
with the blacks, having brought with him for that purpose 
several tons of beads and other articles likely to attract 
the savages. At first the Arabs and others of the English- 
man's crew were greatly afraid of the natives, if the least 

show of hostility were made, but they grew ashamed of 

55 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

their pusillanimity later on. Here is a specimen of 
Mr. Petherick's first experiences of the kind. This was 
on the shores of a large reedy lake that was found about 
lat. 8° N,, where at least a couple of hundred negroes 
came together on the opposite shore, and made fierce 
demonstrations of ill-will — 

" Our terrified guide crouched under the bulwarks of 
the boat, and no inducement could move him to address 
the savages, and state to them our pacific intentions. My 
Dinka interpreter's assurances thereof, and our desire to 
open a barter-trade with them, were met with insult and 
ridicule ; and at last I determined to embark in the small 
boat, and with a few men approach them, and, in the 
event of an attack, force a landing. With astonishment 
and disgust, I found not a man would follow me, nor a 
sailor man the boat. Orders were met with respectful 
non-compliance, whilst, at the same time, all encourage- 
ment and persuasion on my part proving useless, I had 
no alternative but to return." 

The men made up for their cowardice when, after 
entering the Sobat, the leader wished to do business with 
some of the Dinka tribes. Every man was willing to go 
ashore, at whatever risk. As it fell out, there was no 
risk, the inhabitants proving friendly. The Englishman 
showed the peaceableness of his intentions by his tactful 
conduct in a little matter that might easily have led to 
difficulties. Amongst the things bought was a magnifi- 
cent tusk. As this, after the price bargained for had been 
paid, was being carried towards the boat, half-a-dozen 
natives seized the tusk, demanding some recompense, on 

the ground that they had helped to bring the heavy 

53 



THE WHITE CHIEF ON THE NILE 

article from a distance. The sailors held to their purchase, 
and immediately a struggle began. Mr. Petherick bought 
off the blacks by giving them a few beads, whereupon 
others pressed forward and made a similar claim. Thus 
the two parties tugged and pulled. Although so far the 
contest had been conducted with good-humour on the 
part of the savages, it was pretty plain a more serious 
state of things might soon ensue. Thereupon the 
Englishman scrambled a few beads among the crowd, 
which had the effect of drawing off the fellows struggling 
for the possession of the tusk. The coast thus clear, 
the sailors hurried their prize with all speed to the 
boat. 

But the explorer was not always to avoid hostilities on 
the part of the blacks. At a later stage of his travels, he 
came to the Wadi Konig, and at one village landed, taking 
up his quarters under some magnificent tamarind trees, to 
await the arrival of the chief. After three hours this 
ruler came, and, striking his club violently on the ground, 
angrily demanded how the white man had dared to come 
into his territory. An explanation that the intention of 
the strangers was only to do peaceful trade produced a 
peremptory order to leave the district at once. As for 
ivory, the chief said, he had none, and if the intruders did 
not immediately depart, he would not answer for the con- 
sequences. Mr. Petherick's reply was to the point. He 
and his men, he explained, had successfully passed many 
other tribes on the river, and they were not going to be 
stopped now. He and those with him were in want of 
provisions, and these they were ready to buy. If food 
could not be obtained by peaceful purchase it would be 

57 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

taken by force. The chief's own huts would be the first 
to be raided. On this the chief abated his haughty anger 
somewhat, and evidently was puzzled what to say. His 
interlocutor thereupon asked him at what distance he 
could kill a man, and received for reply that the chief was 
able to spear a man at a distance of twenty yards. Mr. 
Petherick selected a tree about a hundred and fifty yards 
away, and informed the black that his gun, which he 
showed, could kill a man at that distance. The chief was 
overwhelmed with astonishment. 

The Englishman was still unwilling to come to blows, 
and with some trouble induced the chief to go with him 
into a hut. Next morning the black ruler was shown an 
exhibition of the white man's skill in the use of firearms, 
the first report of the gun scaring the natives almost out 
of their wits. The astounding powers of the rifle intimi- 
dated them, and Mr. Petherick hoped that now the tribe 
might be inclined to be more friendly. But when the 
chief had departed, he sent a message to the effect that 
he would supply nothing to the intruders, who must 
instantly leave the territory. Meanwhile the blacks had 
assembled in great force along the banks, and the explorers 
were greeted with every sign of contempt and hostility. 
The position was a difficult one, for a fresh supply of food 
for the ship was urgently necessary. The leader of the 
expedition managed once more to entice the chief to his 
quarters, and then swore that unless provisions were 
brought before sunset, the village should be sacked. As 
for the chief, he would be detained as a prisoner till even- 
ing, when, if the demands were not complied with, he 

would be shot. The black was terrified by the threat, 

58 



THE WHITE CHIEF ON THE NILE 

and soon everything was brought that had been asked 
for. 

By the time Mr. Petherick had made two or three of 
his successful expeditions up the Nile and its tributaries, 
a good deal of jealousy had arisen among the merchants 
of Khartoum, who much over-estimated his gains. Rival 
expeditions had accordingly been fitted out. One of these 
had come to grief in the lake Bahr-el-Ghazal. Their 
goods had been seized by the negroes, and the men them- 
selves sold as slaves into the interior. True, these latter 
were eventually repurchased by the merchants their 
masters, but the prestige of the ivory-seeking parties had 
suffered immensely. The Dinkas had fallen upon one or 
two and had murdered some of the men, whose wretched 
firearms had not enabled them to make a successful stand. 

Things like this were reported far and wide, and it was 
with less surprise than concern that Mr, Petherick learnt 
of a great combination of black forces against him. No 
fewer than six tribes, he heard, had joined their men to 
attack him. The first hint of the plot he got when one 
night a hitherto friendly tribe near departed, to a man, 
without giving any explanation ; with the exception of 
Mekir, the son of one of the chiefs. The Englishman had 
with him only six capable men, nevertheless he bade the 
alarmed Mekir to be of good cheer. The young black, 
terrified at the thought of the vengeance his fellows would 
inflict on him for going over to the white man, was hardly 
reassured by the leader's assertions that he was well able 
to protect him. 

The Englishman's plans were soon conceived and 

matured. He was camped for the time being at a 

59 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

distance from the river, and so from the rest of his force 
He determined to put his camp into such a state that it 
would stand a siege. Mekir was asked to provide six 
negroes with hatchets at once, a request that threw the 
youngster into an agony of fear. But the white man was 
not to be trifled with, and when he threatened to burn the 
chiefs huts, and to hang Mekir himself, unless the order 
were complied with directly, the negroes were forthcoming. 
With the trembling blacks Mr. Petherick proceeded to 
fortify his camp. A strong fence was made round the 
place, and at each corner a lofty wooden tower or stage 
was erected, these communicating by means of a staircase 
with the enclosure. The work occupied four heavy days. 
All this time the hostile negroes remained at a distance, 
but their scouts evidently kept them well informed as to 
the progress of the work. By means of a spy whom he 
employed Mr. Petherick learnt with satisfaction that the 
blacks were mightily impressed by the white man's 
astounding skill in fortification. 

For six long weeks the intrepid and determined English- 
man kept his fort, none of all the great crowds of blacks 
allied against him daring to make an attack upon him 
and his six men. In the coolest manner possible he 
sallied forth from his fastness every day to shoot game. 
Never once on these risky expeditions did he meet a 
native. The truth was, his skill as a marksman had 
frightened the whole country side. There were, of course, 
others of his men away with the ship on the river, but 
these had been so terrified by the massacres of other 
Arabs by the Dinkas, that for all those weeks they dared 

not venture to the relief of their besieged master. Mr. 

60 



THE WHITE CHIEF ON THE NILE 

Petherick had also a considerable number of men away 
ivory-hunting, and at length some of these, hearing of 
their leader's difficulties, hastened to his assistance. The 
long siege came to an end, to the Englishman's intense 
satisfaction naturally. He had kept up a marvellous 
show of courage all the while, but he well knew in what 
jeopardy he had stood every moment of those six weeks. 

A rival chief, the declared enemy of the Dinkas, now 
came and invited the white man to leave his stockade 
and encamp in the village where the chief lived. This 
proposal was one not to be neglected, for it was clear that 
out in the woods there it would be impossible to obtain 
porters to convey to the boats the ivory, of which a large 
quantity had been collected in the fort. The friendly 
chief was willing to lend men to take the ivory to the 
village, though he was not prepared to let them carry it 
right through the enemy's country to the river. So the 
valuables were safely stocked in the Dor village, and the 
Englishman was free to take action against his foes. 

He was certain that he would be attacked on his 
journey to the vessel, and resolved to be beforehand with 
the blacks. He rightly guessed that a raid upon their 
cattle-kraals would touch them most keenly, and he pre- 
pared his plans. He divided the men at his disposal into 
two bands, one of eighty Khartoumers, who were instructed 
to march during the night and to loot the cattle-stations 
by day. The other band, about forty men, he kept with 
himself to defend the settlement. Nothing more was 
heard of the advance party till about three the following 
afternoon. Then a sound of sharp firing put the camp on 

the qui vive. The reports came from a direction quite 

61 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

other than that expected, and Mr. Petherick concluded 
that his men had met with defeat at the hands of the 
Dinkas, and had been chased to the quarter whence the 
sounds had come. 

The eighty Khartoumers, however, had not sped in the 
way their master in his camp was fearing. They had 
had a severe encounter with the hordes of Dinkas, but 
their courage and skill had been rewarded by a signal 
victory. No fewer than six hundred head of cattle had 
been captured, besides two flocks of sheep and goats. 
Further, the Khartoumers had made fifty-three prisoners, 
mostly women and children. In their joy the victors fired 
a volley to announce their success. It was the sound of 
this firing that had alarmed Mr. Petherick. This was the 
state of affairs when the Englishman, with one-half the 
force he had at his disposal, arrived on the spot. 

The lesson must have been a severe one. Yet the 
sequel to the adventure called down on the white man 
the blessings of the blacks, even of those women who had 
lost husbands in the battle. The whole of the trembling 
prisoners, who had been expecting to be sold into slavery, 
were at once set free. The surprise was beyond descrip- 
tion, says Mr. Petherick, and several of the women, " for- 
getting for the moment the loss of their husbands, their 
eyes filled with tears of joy and gratitude, took an affec- 
tionate leave of me by spitting on my hand ! " 



62 



V 

COSSACKS AND CIRCASSIANS 

The River Kouban — Dr. Clarke a traveller of the early part of the nine- 
teenth century — Plague of mosquitoes — Astonishing abundance of 
reptiles — Carriage dragged through swamps — Marshes and reed 
forests — The Englishmen make short excursion across river to Cir- 
cassian territory — Extraordinary precautious taken for their safety — 
A threatening reception — The Ataman of Ekaterinedara — Peace- 
making ceremonies — A magnificent display — Circassian camp on the 
bank of the river — Cossack troops drawn up on the heights above — 
Meeting between the notables on either side — Pasha crosses in a 
crowded canoe — Mutual mistrust between Cossacks and Circassians — 
An angry altercation— Fortunate escape. 

Where is the River Kouban? It is probable that the 

average reader would be puzzled to answer this question 

straight off. Yet the Kouban is no small river, being in 

length more than twice the largest stream in the British 

Isles. It rises in a range loftier even than the Alps ; it 

flows through magnificent scenery for the most part ; its 

course extends to fully five hundred miles ; finally, it gives 

its name to an entire province in south Russia. 

In this district a noted traveller of the early years of 

the nineteenth century — Dr. E. D. Clarke — spent some 

time, studying the region well and meeting with not a 

few remarkable experiences. The amount of insect and 

reptile life by the Kouban banks was enormous, and 

troublesome to a degree. The mosquitoes especially 

63 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

made life hardly worth living. " No contrivance on our 
part," says the traveller, " could prevent millions of 
mosquitoes from filling the inside of our carriage; in 
spite of gloves, clothes, and handkerchiefs, they rendered 
our bodies one entire wound. The excessive irritation 
and painful swelling caused by the stings of these furious 
insects, together with the hot pestilential air, excited a 
considerable degree of fever." The Cossacks lighted fires 
during the night to drive away the mosquitoes. Further, 
they slept in sacks, which covered nearly the whole of 
their bodies, but often the insects had their way in spite 
of all these precautions. Dr. Clarke heard that the 
Russian soldiers stationed along the Kouban lost both 
men and horses not a few from these terrible insect 
antagonists. 

Nor were the mosquitoes the only inconvenience to the 
travellers. The number of toads, frogs and other reptiles 
was astounding. At night it was impossible to sleep for 
the din made by the bull-frogs, accompanied as it was by 
the loud and incessant humming of the insects, the barking 
of dogs, and the lowings of the tortured cattle. ' The 
ground seemed literally alive with toads ; it was impossible 
to get away from them. 

The traveller and his companions had an unpleasant 

experience at one of the military stations. For hours it 

had been necessary to drag the carriage through pools of 

water. Everything in and about the vehicle had been 

soaked, and was covered with deposits of slimy mud. 

Even the trunks had been invaded by the water, and 

clothes and books were wet. It was in the middle of hot 

July, and soon the stench from the carriage and its 

64 



COSSACKS AND CIRCASSIANS 

contents became unbearable. Nevertheless, Mr. Cripps, 
one of the party, tortured by the insects, shut himself up 
in the vehicle that night to try to get a little sleep. But 
even into this closed fastness the mosquitoes made their 
way in vast swarms. The unfortunate man tied up his 
head and face in his handkerchief, yet in spite of it the 
insects got into his ears and nostrils, and if he opened his 
mouth it was filled with them. He lighted a large lamp, 
but this " was instantly extinguished by such a prodigious 
number of mosquitoes, that their dead bodies actually 
remained heaped in a cone over the burner for several 
days afterwards; and perhaps there is no method of 
describing the nature of such an afflicting visitation better 
than by the simple statement of this fact." 

A portion of Dr. Clarke's journey on the Russian bank 
of the Kouban proved very disagreeable, from the swampy 
and unhealthy nature of the district. For many miles the 
land is one continuous marsh. The reeds grow to a very 
great height, a sure sign of swampiness in the ground, and 
the carriage had to make its way through whole forests of 
these tall reeds, which waved their tops a dozen or twenty 
feet above the vehicle. The croakings of the toads and 
frogs, and the humming of the innumerable mosquitoes in 
such a place, proved a positive torture to the Englishmen. 
The river side had elevated poles set up here and there, 
and on the top of each pole was a little look-out place, from 
which a Russian (Cossack) soldier, gun in hand, watched 
the live-long day, to spy any approach of Circassians that 
might be observed on the other side of the river. The 
whole district was subject to sudden incursions from the 
lawless tribes. Many of the stations were simply intoler- 
5 65 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

able. All the plagues of Egypt seemed to have settled 
on one such place — "bad air, bad water, swarms of 
mosquitoes, with various kinds of locusts, beetles, in- 
numerable flies, lizards and spotted toads." 

The Englishmen were seized with a great desire to 
make a short excursion into Circassia, a risky proceeding 
at the best. At last the Russian Commander-in-Chief 
gave his consent. But extraordinary precautions had to 
be made. A party of Cossacks were sent across the 
Kouban first, to reconnoitre. The general himself was 
posted with a force on the high ground overlooking the 
river and the opposite bank. On this height guns were 
placed that commanded a good area. The Englishmen 
were ordered to go back instantly, if they heard a gun 
fired. With these preparations Dr. Clarke and his 
companions were allowed to cross the river, in the 
company of a Cossack guard. They wished to enter the 
woods, which were but a short walk from the bank of the 
stream, but the Cossacks utterly refused to accompany 
them, to the chagrin of the travellers. How well-grounded 
were the fears of the guard was presently shown, when a 
band of sixty Circassians suddenly emerged from the 
shelter of some willows hard by. These men made a 
great noise and began a loud and threatening questioning. 
It was plain the fellows were in a state of great irritation ; 
the Circassians having suffered defeat in the late war. 
They were, in fact, not to be trusted for a moment. The 
Englishmen were compelled to withdraw, and it was lucky 
for them that they came off no worse. As it was, the 
presence of the Cossack guard, and more especially the 
knowledge that the place was commanded by the Russian 

66 



COSSACKS AND CIRCASSIANS 

guns on the heights on the opposite bank of the river, 
kept the Circassians at bay, till the adventurers had 
regained their canoes and crossed the Kouban in safety. 

The travellers were fortunate enough to witness some 
curious and stirring scenes in connection with the conclu- 
sion of the peace made between the Russians and the 
Circassians, after the war that has just been mentioned. 
The ceremonies took place at Ekaterinedara, from which 
town a fine view of the lofty snowy peaks of the 
Caucasus could be obtained. The very evening of their 
arrival Dr. Clarke and his friends were visited by the 
Ataman, as the chief officer of the town was called. 
This dignitary and his officers, the traveller says, wore the 
most gorgeous and striking robes in the world. Their 
breasts were covered with gold lace and gold chains ; their 
boots were red or yellow, their caps of black velvet were 
ornamented with silver chains ; their waists were bound 
with silk sashes ; their sabres, pistols and other weapons 
were of the richest description. The Ataman informed 
the strangers that several Circassian princes had crossed 
the Kouban, in order to assist at the peace ratification 
ceremonies on the morrow, and he ended by inviting the 
Englishmen to be present. It was an opportunity not to 
be lost. 

The next morning the general sent his drosky to fetch 
up the strangers, a Cossack guard under an officer attend- 
ing also. Dr. Clarke and his friends were informed that 
the Ataman was waiting for them to join his procession to 
the banks of the river, where were encamped the Circassian 
notables. This procession to the spot was a remarkable 
one. The Ataman led the long cavalcade, and a more 

67 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

brilliantly-dressed mortal surely never lived. Rich blues, 
scarlets and gold predominated in his official habits, while 
he rode the most magnificent of horses. His chief officers 
rode on either side of him, and behind came troops 
of splendidly-dressed and splendidly-mounted Cossack 
soldiers. The Englishmen were given a place of 
distinguished honour in the procession. 

The princes of Circassia, of which the chief was the 
Pasha of Anapa, were seated smoking in their tents close 
by the water's edge. Many of the men were attired in the 
most savage costumes, and their appearance betokened 
extraordinary ferocity. On the other side of the river were 
ranged a crowd of their Circassian subjects. It was plain 
they were mistrustful, as if they did not know how the 
day's proceedings might end. Line upon line of Cossack 
cavalry was drawn up on the high ground close at 
hand commanding the river and the tents of the Cir- 
cassian princes. To these latter the Ataman and his 
great officers advanced, and the Englishmen were allowed 
the privilege of accompanying them. The high con- 
tracting parties received each other bareheaded and on 
foot. An interpreter was present. The dress of the Cir- 
cassian lords was as beggarly as that of the Ataman and 
his subordinates was magnificent. The clothes of the 
former were, indeed, ragged and scanty; on their necks 
and legs they wore nothing at all. But they were all 
armed to an extraordinary degree, their armour including 
even a shirt of mail to protect the breast. 

It was evident that the Pasha of Anapa did not like the 
look of the great body of Cossack cavalry drawn up on 
the heights above and the forest of lances lining the bank 

68 



COSSACKS AND CIRCASSIANS 

of the river. The prince was outwardly polite, but he 
could not conceal his fears. He regarded the Cossacks as 
a barbarous and savage race, on whom no man could 
depend for a moment. The astonishment of the Pasha 
reached its height when, in answer to a question, he was 
informed that the strangers present were Englishmen, 
and travelling among the Cossacks for pleasure ! To him 
the notion was simply astounding. But he spoke highly 
of the English. It is not necessary to describe in detail 
all the procedure on that day. Peace was duly signed, 
and the Circassian princes departed. 

The Pasha himself entered a canoe of small proportions, 
and squatted on some rushes in the bottom. His boat 
was filled with attendants in such number that its edge 
was all but level with the water. In this manner he 
crossed the Kouban, the spectators looking all the while 
to see the craft swamped and the occupants struggling in 
the rapid stream. Then numbers of the Circassians from 
the farther bank began to cross to the Cossack side, bring- 
ing wood, honey and arms to exchange for salt, this being 
their practice in times of peace. A scene of lively rejoic- 
ings followed. Bargainings over, the company, Cossack 
and Circassian, began to indulge in merriment. One of the 
Circassians was a marvellous performer on a sort of flute 
called a Camil. It shows the simplicity of the race when, 
on Dr. Clarke's offering to purchase the instrument, the 
man would not accept his money for it. To him coins 
were of no value, and had no meaning, save as adornment 
for the person. 

With the Englishman's usual curiosity, the strangers 

were most anxious to go over the river to get a closer 

69 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

acquaintance with the Circassians, who were encamped on 
the opposite shore. As usual, the Russian authorities 
were very unwilling to grant the permission asked for; 
even though peace had just been made between them 
and their former enemies. At last the Commander-in- 
Chief gave way, and ordered the Ataman, with a Cossack 
guard, to accompany the foolhardy travellers, for such the 
Englishmen were evidently thought to be. The Cir- 
cassians had gathered in force from all parts of their terri- 
tory, and groups of them lined the river side at intervals. 
The Ataman and his party took care to land a couple of 
hundred yards or so from any of the groups. 

This keeping aloof from the wild fellows did not suit the 
Englishmen, and they desired the Ataman to approach 
nearer. For some time the official was very unwilling to 
brace himself up to it, but at length, drawing his sabre 
from its sheath, said, " If it be your desire, you shall not 
feel disappointment upon my account ; but you little know 
what sort of people these Circassians are." He concluded 
by prophesying that some mischief would be done before 
they could get back across the river and to safety. Then 
with hesitating steps the Ataman advanced towards the 
groups, the Englishmen and the Cossack guard following. 

In a moment the Circassians, seeing their intentions, 
seized their weapons and stood on the defensive, their 
faces showing defiance the while. The new-comers en- 
deavoured to explain that their intentions were nothing 
but friendly ; in vain, not a word did either side under- 
stand of the other's talk. Louder and louder grew the 
conversation, and ever more threatening the attitude of 

the Circassians. The visitors were soon convinced that 

70 



COSSACKS AND CIRCASSIANS 

they were running great risks. The Ataman in particular 
was in a state of the greatest perturbation, and as time 
went on his fears grew rather than diminished. 

At last the uneasiness of the whole party of visitors be- 
came too serious, and they made signs to their boatmen to 
draw near. On the arrival of the canoes they precipitately 
embarked and beat a retreat, no doubt incurring the con- 
tempt of the Circassians. Yet the Ataman and his men 
thought it best to preserve a show of dignity and of cool- 
ness even in their trepidation. They therefore took off 
their hats as they retired, and bowed, as a sign of civility 
and friendliness. The effect was hardly what the English- 
men had prepared themselves to expect. With one accord 
the whole body of the Circassians standing around burst 
into a violent fit of merriment. "They all* roared with 
loud and savage laughter, and, mocking our manner of 
making obeisance, seemed to invite us to a repetition of 
the ceremony ; and as often as we renewed it, they set 
up fresh peals of laughter." 

Thus the incident ended in a piece of comedy, but it 
might as easily have turned into a tragedy. The Cossack 
officers, who had been of the company all the time, 
assured the English travellers that the Circassians who 
inhabit the banks of the Kouban were known to be the 
savagest and most lawless of their race. Their main aim 
was to lurk within a short distance of the river, and to 
seize on any unfortunate stragglers who came within their 
grasp. Such captives were always carried off into Persia, 
and there sold as slaves. 



71 



VI 

PERILS IN PARAGUAY 

Everything in South America on a large scale— The brothers Robertson, 
explorers in Paraguayan districts— The " thistleries "— Mr. W. Robert- 
son sails in a brigantine up the Parana — Fearful tempest— Slow progress 
— Haulage operations— Lifting the ship off sand-banks — Mosquito 
plagues — Jaguars and their daring — Sad death of a young fellow on 
the eve of his marriage— An alligator in the canoe — Robertson leaves 
the brigantine at Corrientes— Crosses river in the dark — Dangers 
from the insurgent bands — The King's Ferry — In the hands of the 
insurgents — Terror of Robertson's servant— The two allowed to go— 
A terrible night— Jaguars in numbers— Risky way of crossing the 
rivers and deeper lagoons — Loss of bag with the money — Its wonder- 
ful recovery— A very narrow escape from jaguars— Scarcity of food — 
Lost in the woods — Arrival at Assuneion. 

"Everything in South America is on a grand scale. 
Their mountains are stupendous — their rivers are immense 
— their plains are interminable — their forests have no end 
— their trees are gigantic — their miles are thrice the 
length of ours — and then " (here the general took a doub- 
loon, a gold coin the size of a dollar, out of his pocket, 
and laid it on the table) " look at their guineas ! " Such 
was the description said to have been given by a distin- 
guished Spanish officer, who had seen much service in 
South America in the early years of the nineteenth 
century, and his account has in all essentials been borne 
out by other travellers. 

About the time when the late Queen Victoria was 



PERILS IN PARAGUAY 

beginning her long and glorious reign, two brothers, 
Scotchmen of the name of Robertson, were among the 
adventurous explorers who penetrated into the depths of 
the enormous regions watered by the wonderful river 
system that converges at length upon and merges itself 
into the mighty La Plata. One of the brothers, Mr. W. P. 
Robertson, found himself at Santa Fe, on the Paraguay, 
or the Parana, as the stream is more often called at that 
part of its course. He was anxious to proceed up the 
river to Corrientes and thence to Assuncion. At all 
times this was and still remains a long and arduous task, 
but at the period of Robertson's journey ings the difficul- 
ties and dangers were enormously increased by the civil 
war going on in those regions. An insurgent, Don 
Artigas, with his troops, who had been christened Artigue- 
iios, held the river banks, and his fellows were as rough 
and desperate a set as could be found anywhere on the 
continent. 

Few things astonished Mr. Robertson more than the 
size and number of the thistles in the neighbourhood of 
Santa Fe. One part, known specially as the carclales, or 
" thistleries," extended for leagues around. He, a Scotch- 
man, naturally supposed himself to hail from the land of 
thistles. " But," says he, " I now found that those of my 
native land, as compared with the ' thistleries ' of the 
Pampas, were as a few scattered Lilliputians to the 
serried ranks of the Brobdignagians." The thistles, in 
fact, towered over men and beasts, and even houses. In 
the lanes cut through the dense growth nothing whatever 
could be seen but the thistles themselves and the sky 

above. The plants were formidable things to encounter, 

73 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

so stout and so many were their prickles. The thistle 
tracts, moreover, forming such excellent cover, were 
haunted by highwaymen and loose characters of various 
sorts. In short, like South American things in general, 
the thistles were on a grand scale. 

The traveller's weary detention at Santa F6 was 
brought to an end by the arrival of a brigantine on its 
way to Assuncion. The vessel started on her course up- 
stream in the darkness of night, and managed thus to 
get in safety past the Artiguenos posted on the river 
bank. But the current was very strong, and with but 
little in the way of favouring wind the vessel was by 
next morning almost at a standstill. Then came on one 
of the most violent storms even the South Americans had 
ever seen. The brigantine seemed to be in the very 
vortex of the tempest. The lightning became "almost 
one continual flash," while the thunder was terrifying. 
The wind suddenly became a hurricane, and before any 
precautions could be taken to prevent it, every shred of 
sail was blown to atoms. The rain poured down in an 
almost unbroken sheet of water, while tree after tree was 
shivered by the lightning before the very eyes of the 
travellers. The storm went on all day, and when at last 
the sky cleared, the ship was left without a rag of sail to 
carry it on. 

Under the best circumstances the brigantine would not 
have been able to make more than five miles an hour, and 
from that three miles would have to be deducted for the 
flow of the opposing current, so that a couple of miles an 
hour was all the progress that could have been counted on 
even while the sails remained. Now they were gone, the 

74 



PERILS IN PARAGUAY 

captain and his crew had to fall back upon haulage. A 
couple of canoes were kept at work, carrying ropes to the 
banks of the river, and the vessel was laboriously and 
slowly hauled up. Not more than six miles a day could 
be made, and even that amount of progress was liable to 
be diminished by any slight accident. Often no advance 
could be made the whole day, and on one occasion the 
brigantine was " tied up " for eight days at a stretch. 

The numerous sand-banks, too, proved a source of 
trouble and annoyance. It was impossible for a sailing 
ship, dependent on the wind, to run at full speed ahead, 
or to back off, and so get clear, as is often done in the 
case of a steamboat. The method of procedure on the 
Paraguay was this. Two stout logs or trestles, with the 
top ends forked, were placed in position, one on either side 
of the boat, the forked part of the posts sticking high out 
of the water. On this a purchase was obtained by means 
of blocks and ropes. A whole day was often spent in 
getting the vessel off the sand-bank, and then it might be 
impossible to proceed for want of wind. The windings of 
the river, moreover, and the necessity of hiding whenever 
the posts of the Artiguerlos were being passed, made the 
voyage a trying one. 

Of course our travellers had their experiences with the 
terrible mosquito, and Mr. Robertson remarks that to him 
this enemy was much more dreadful than the bands of 
Artiguerlos, for the mosquitoes were everywhere, and in 
entirely overwhelming force. Says the writer, " This 
buzzing insect is bad enough anywhere ; but on a South 
American river, during a close, and sultry, and breezeless 

night, the mosquito is a demon which torments you with 

75 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

indefatigable assiduity. In such case, in such a place, I 

have found nothing impervious to the mosquito." Cover 

yourself as you will, " he will get at you, — sting you, — sing 

at your ear, — sting you again, — blister you, — and in short 

do all that lies in his power to drive you mad." The 

north wind it was which brought both the intolerable 

heat and the mosquito ; the south wind cleared away both 

these troubles, as if by magic, and made life tolerable 

once more. 

The jaguar, or South American tiger, was often heard, 

but as yet no person belonging to the ship had been in 

any danger from his attacks, the captain refusing to allow 

any of his people to go far from the shore. But that the 

ravages of these brutes were real enough and only too 

common, was shown by the little crosses so plentifully 

met with on the shore. Each cross was intended to mark 

the place where some human being had been slain by a 

jaguar. The travellers heard one sad story, of the death 

of a fine young fellow that had but recently taken place. 

The young man was engaged to be married, and with him 

was the brother of his intended wife, together with others. 

The party had left their boat to cook their supper on the 

bank, when without the smallest warning a jaguar sprang 

in among them, and the young fellow was seized. His 

shriek, and the cry of the rest, startled his intended 

brother-in-law, who was close at hand. He fired at the 

savage beast, and unfortunately shot his friend through 

the heart. It was a terrible experience, but when the 

body of the young man came to be examined it was found 

that his wounds, inflicted before the shot had been fired, 

must have been fatal. 

76 



PERILS IN PARAGUAY 

One night there was a great cry from the brigantine's 
crew. A most extraordinary sight was seen; a huge 
cayman had somehow got itself into one of the ship's 
canoes, which it entirely filled. It was bedtime, but in a 
moment an exciting hunt began. Every weapon on 
which the men could lay their hands was brought to bear 
on the cayman — axes, pikes, rusty sabres and guns. 
Blows rained thick and fast on the beast, and he received 
many wounds. Strange to say, however, the animal 
managed to back himself out of the canoe, and dropped 
into the water to disappear. This was the only alligator 
Mr. Robertson saw in the whole course of his voyage up 
the Parana, oddly enough. 

After thirty-two days of this slow progress Robertson 
determined to leave the brigantine when it should arrive 
at Corrientes. The distance already made from Santa Fe 
was not more than seventy-five leagues, or an average of less 
than two-and-a-half leagues a day ! But he was influenced 
much more by a letter which was put into his hands 
by some unknown correspondent. He took it that the 
epistle came from one of his brother's assistants. The 
captain and the rest of those on board the brigantine 
were in great alarm when Mr. Robertson communicated 
his intentions to them. To leave the vessel, they de- 
clared, was to fall into the hands of the bloodthirsty 
Artiguefios, and that meant virtual suicide. It was only 
with immense difficulty that the Scotchman persuaded 
the captain to put him ashore. 

The ship was tied up for the night on the opposite 
shore to that on which stands the town of Corrientes, and 
hid there in the darkness. At four in the morning 

77 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

Robertson stepped into a canoe, six of the men offering 
to row him across the river. It was pitch dark as the 
canoe shot silently across the four leagues of water that 
separated the brigantine from Corrientes. The sailors 
were frightened almost out of their wits at the prospect 
of meeting with any of the dreaded Artigueflos on the 
further bank, and not a word was spoken on the passage. 
It was still dark when Robertson stepped ashore, and the 
men paddled away immediately. 

Here then stood the lonely traveller, hardly knowing 
what course to pursue. He was in an entirely strange 
country, and knew not a soul ; he had no passport ; he 
was in a land at war with the territory from which he 
had come. But it came to his mind that his brother had 
an agent at Corrientes, and to this man Robertson deter- 
mined to go. He found the agent just getting up, and 
was rejoiced by a warm welcome. Through this person 
the Scotchman received a special passport at the hands 
of the governor. As this governor was one of the most 
important officers under Don Artigas, the insurgent, the 
permit was of special value to one about to travel in the 
country of the Artiguenos. Behold Robertson presently 
fitted out for his further journey, with horse, arms, goods, 
and a servant and guide, one Geronimo. He was about 
to take the " coast road " to Assuncion. This was the 
road that runs more or less along the banks of the 
Parana, or at least in the valley of that river. 

The point to be hurried past, in the first instance, was 
the Paso del Rey, or King's Ferry, some seven leagues 
from Corrientes. This place was entirely in the hands of 

the Artiguenos, and Robertson was very loth to spend a 

78 



PERILS IN PARAGUAY 

night among them. As for Geronimo, the man enlarged 
on the dangers to be apprehended from the lawless fellows. 
In truth Geronimo was a great coward, notwithstanding 
the array of weapons with which he was armed. It was 
late when the two men reached the ferryman's hut, to 
find that both the boats were away from home for the 
moment. At this juncture the galloping of horses was 
heard behind, accompanied by the clanking of swords. 
Geronimo turned as white as a sheet. The next minute 
a couple of Artiguenos sprang from their saddles. 

The fellows were certainly a fierce-looking pair, with 
thick, black, matted hair, and small scowling eyes peeping 
from under their shaggy eyebrows. Besides his dangling 
sabre each man bore a carbine, and had a huge knife 
stuck in his girdle. Even the bolder Scotchman was not 
without the fear that his servant showed only too plainly. 
However, he put a good face on the matter, and accosted 
the soldiers pleasantly enough. In the end the travellers 
were carried off to the guard-house, where the men 
pretended to read Robertson's passport, a thing not a 
man among them was able to do, as it soon appeared. 
Robertson read the document for them, and then pro- 
posed that they should ferry him and his guide across. 
This proposition threw Geronimo into a fever, and when 
a number of the soldiers entered the hut his terror 
became extreme. " Let us mount," he pleaded. " Oh, 
let us mount, and return to Corrientes. If you do not, 
be assured, when we are half-way across the Parana, they 
will shoot us and throw our bodies into the river ! " 

In spite of the fears of the man, however, both he and 

his master were safely deposited on the further shore of 

79 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the river, but two miles below the proper landing-place, 
the Artigueiios having proved bad boatmen. The chief 
danger was yet to come. The two had been set down 
where the forest was at its densest, and as it was already 
getting dark, it was necessary to reach, if possible, some 
place where a fire could be made to scare off the 
numerous jaguars that infested the spot. Geronimo's 
fears increased every moment. " We shall be lost," he 
cried, "we shall be devoured by the tigers; let us 
endeavour to hasten back to the river side." In spite 
of all this, Robertson pushed on in the darkness, not 
without suffering much from the briars and prickly trees. 
At length the two came to a halt, and tried to make a 
fire, an operation that took a full half-hour. It was high 
time, for hardly had the blaze begun to gain strength 
when the howlings of the jaguars were heard on all sides. 

The men were but two in number; the beasts were 
many and daring. It was absolutely necessary to keep 
the fire burning strongly, and the benighted travellers 
redoubled their efforts to find fuel. Every now and then 
they fired their pistols, with the view of scaring still 
more the savage jaguars. A most anxious night was 
passed, and it was with extreme thankfulness the men 
saw the dawn approach, and knew by the djdng away of 
the cries that the animals were returning to their lairs. 

Later on, after they had reached the valley of the 
Paraguay proper, the wayfarers came upon a district of 
formidable swamps, intersected, moreover, by numerous 
and difficult streams. The crossing of these was by no 
means an experience to be recommended to a nervous 

man. A square hide was tied at the corners, so as to 

80 



PERILS IN PARAGUAY 

make a sort of bag. In the middle of this Robertson 
sat, his goods with him. He dared not stir in the pelota, 
as this frail craft was called. Francisco, a new servant 
whom he had secured in place of Geronimo, took the 
rope of the pelota in his mouth, and, swimming across, 
pulled the craft and its load along. Often it was necessary 
to travel for leagues with the water of the swamps up to 
their saddle-girths. All went fairly well with the pelota 
for a time, but at length came the inevitable accident, 
and Robertson was tumbled out of his fragile craft into 
the racing waters, and it was only with great difficulty 
that he was rescued by his follower. After that he would 
have no more of the pelota, but crossed the rivers and 
deeper lagoons on the back of his horse. 

One day the two had a fright of a kind not usual 
among travellers, perhaps. They had just succeeded with 
much trouble in getting across a horribly pestilential and 
mosquito-haunted marsh, when, to their dismay, they 
found that the valise had been lost from Francisco's 
saddle. As the bag contained the master s money, the 
loss was serious indeed. In a fit of despair Francisco 
dashed back through bog and swamp and stream, Robert- 
son sitting down to await his return. A couple of hours 
later the faithful fellow reappeared triumphant, having 
found the bag hanging among the branches of a tree 
under which they had passed. It was a marvellous 
recovery, considering the nature of the country through 
which they were journeying. But the recovery entailed 
still more delays, for Francisco declared he had vowed to 
light four candles at the shrine of Our Lady of Favours, 

in Capilla, three leagues away, as a thank-offering, and 
6 81 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

nothing could dissuade the man from his purpose, so there 
was nothing for the master but to wait the convenience 
of his servant. 

The next morning the travellers had a very narrow 
escape. They were preparing to cross a wood in the 
early dawn, before the sun had risen above the horizon, 
a dangerous thing to do, for the tigers do not cease their 
prowling for the night till the sun is well up. On this 
occasion, as it fell out, the men were compelled to remain 
within the shelter of a hut for some time, a heavy shower 
falling. When at length they did start, in full sunshine, 
they found jaguar tracks close at hand, near the very 
entrance into the wood, and the tracks were quite recent. 
It was plain that the tigers had been on the watch, and 
had not retired till a quarter-of-an-hour or so before. 

It was the last serious danger that threatened the two 
on this particular journey, for notwithstanding hardships 
of various kinds — scarcity of food, if not actual starva- 
tion ; being lost in the woods ; having for days together 
no dry place in which they might sleep — they reached 
the city of Assuncion in safety. 



82 



VII 

STEAMING UP THE DANUBE SEVENTY YEARS AGO 

Backward state of the Lower Danube peoples half-a- century ago — Miss 
Skene embarks on a Danube steamer — Bad weather in the Black Sea 
— Russian mouth of river entered — Solitary sentries on shore — A 
floating corpse in the river — River in high flood— Evidences of 
destruction caused in the late Balkan War — Turkish passengers — 
Their contempt for the Christians — A Bulgarian family — Miss Skene's 
cabin invaded — A frightful storm — Terror of a Turk on seeing a 
woman run at full speed— Passengers on shore attacked by villagers — 
A hasty retreat — Steamer left, and a long boat employed — Rapids — 
Dangers of the " Iron Gate " — New steamboat boarded at Orsova — A 
frightful gorge. 

It is curious and in a manner almost startling to find 

how backward was the state of portions of even Europe 

itself at a period but little more than half-a-century ago. 

The voyage of a lady on one of the early Danube steamers 

well illustrates this want of civilization on the part of 

many of the peoples inhabiting the banks of the noble 

Danube — Turks, Bulgarians, and what not. 

The Black Sea passage, from Constantinople to the 

mouths of the Danube, had proved a trying one, continuous 

tempests having shattered the spirits of most of the 

passengers, so that it was with intense relief they learnt 

they were within a score of miles of the entrance to the 

river. Now the Danube has no fewer than seven mouths, 

and there had lately been a treaty made between Russia 

83 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

and Austria as to these mouths. With astonishing 
unselfishness Russia had claimed for itself but one of all 
these mouths, the most northern of them, while the 
remaining six had been handed over in generous fashion 
to her neighbours. But the branch retained by Russia 
was the only one of the seven that could be used by large 
ships ! It was into this mouth that the vessel steamed. 

At first it was almost impossible to see whether it was 
really the river, or still the sea, so enormously wide was 
the mouth, and so low and distant the muddy shores. In 
time it narrowed down somewhat, so that it could now be 
perceived to be a veritable river, but the banks were 
hardly above the level of the water, and altogether the 
region presented a most desolate aspect. There was, 
however, always to be seen at his post one figure, to wit, 
the Russian soldier on duty near his wretched little 
sentry-box. At every half-league stood one of these boxes, 
and the miserable soldier, as often as not up to his knees 
in water, and with spear in hand, kept his lonely watch. 
It was a striking illustration of Russian power and 
Russian methods. Each man elevated his spear as the 
steamer passed his beat. The poor fellows, the travellers 
afterwards learnt, were on duty for six months at a 
stretch, the experience often proving too much for them, 
in such a water-logged and unhealthy district. 

While the boat was ploughing its way up the river, a 

floating corpse became entangled in the paddle-wheel, to 

the horror of the lady who writes the narrative. Her cry 

brought up the captain, and he gave orders that the dead 

body should be picked up. This was done, when it was 

seen that the man had been barbarously murdered. In a 

84 



STEAMING UP THE DANUBE 

moment, by the command of the captain, the sailors flung 
the body overboard again, to the surprise and disgust of 
Miss Skene and others of the passengers. The captain 
explained that it would be incurring too great a risk to 
carry the corpse to land and to a quiet grave. In other 
words, he feared lest the authorities should roundly accuse 
him or his passengers of having murdered the man on 
board the steamer. This was near Galatz, and Miss 
Skene noted that when the body floated near any of the 
other numerous vessels in the river, it was invariably 
pushed off with all haste. The whole thing illustrated in 
an unmistakable manner the methods of the Russian 
authorities at that date. 

Owing to the quarantine regulations, the vessel was not 
allowed to land any person, and the regulations were 
strictly observed, even in the most remote part of the 
Bulgarian shores. Even thus far inland the Danube still 
presented the appearance of an enormously long lake 
rather than that of a river. But in truth the stream was 
in high flood. The volume of brown muddy water that 
passed onward to the sea was tremendous, and the vast 
stream flowed down with a majesty that impressed the 
travellers greatly. On the banks village after village was 
under water, only the roofs of the wretched huts showing 
above the surface. Huge trees torn up by the roots 
swirled past, while near the shores many a tree was 
standing up out of the floods, but tottering, till at length 
its roots, too, should give way before the force of the water 
stream, and float off bodily seawards. 

In due time the scenery began to improve, and when 

the town of Hirsova was reached, the situation was found 

85 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

to be very picturesque. The place had been destroyed not 
so long before, in the Balkan campaign, by Russia, but 
the passengers admired the position. The country began 
to assume quite a pleasant aspect, yet everywhere the 
signs of the havoc wrought in the recent wars were 
evident. The district was a desolate one at the best, and 
the cries of the pelican and the stork were plentiful. 
Often a sort of long roar was heard, especially at night ; 
it was the roar of the buffaloes that roamed in freedom 
over. the vast plains of Silistria. 

A number of Turks had by this time been taken on 
board, and the captain induced them to confine themselves 
to a portion of the vessel, the stern. This left the other 
passengers more room to move about. The Turks when 
once seated on the deck rarely stirred from their places. 
Miss Skene went to look at the party, and found them 
seated round a huge bowl of rice, which they were cram- 
ming down their throats as fast as they could. The lady 
wished them a good appetite, but had reason to repent 
her politeness. The Turks immediately began to roll up 
in the palms of their hands big balls of rice, and these 
they were anxious to throw down her throat, a knack they 
had acquired to great perfection. The lady was in 
danger of being choked, and had to cry off. But it was 
clear that the Turks despised their Christian neighbour, 
especially as she was a woman. One fat old fellow, who 
was blessed with a portentous appetite, was at no pains 
to conceal his disgust that a female should move about in 
such unrestricted fashion. 

At Gurgievo, the port of Bucharest, a Bulgarian family 

was added to the list of ship's passengers, and it was 

86 



STEAMING UP THE DANUBE 

strange to note how entirely unused to the outside world 
these people were. Bat indeed all along the river the 
natives received the boat with yells of wonder and delight ; 
the steamers were yet new to them. The head of the 
family, " a frightfully ugly Turk," however, put on the 
most knowing of airs, and though he had certainly never 
before been on board a steamboat, yet he walked about 
the ship as if it were the most ordinary thing for him. 
His dignity was never for a moment lost. Not so with 
his pipe-bearer. This fellow could not keep his feet at all 
on board, but tumbled here and there, and plunged head- 
long into all sorts of odd places, uttering wild cries at 
every fresh thing he saw. At last his wanderings brought 
him to the engine-room, where the great engine was in 
full motion. One peep was enough for the Turk; he 
evidently thought the place the entrance to the bottomless 
pit. With a frightful yell he started back, and, losing his 
footing, rolled heels over head. 

About this time Miss Skene's cabin was invaded by the 
whole strength of the women and children belonging to 
the Bulgarian Turk. " They shrieked with delight, and 
gesticulated in a most uncouth manner ; and at once pro- 
ceeded to a most violent examination of all the objects, 
animate and inanimate, which the room contained ; they 
scattered everything about, tried on every article of dress 
which they could find, and then, snatching the pencil out 
of my hand with which I was drawing, absolutely shouted 
with glee when they found they could themselves produce 
marks upon the paper." So primitive were the manners 
of the Turks in the " Forties." One young gentleman, 
the son and heir of the head of the family, tried to drink 

87 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the ink out of the bottle, but the liquor not being to his 
taste, he instantly flung the whole thing into the water. 

The character of the scene improved immensely as the 
vessel gained the higher parts of the magnificent Danube, 
and now and then some of the passengers were allowed to 
make a little excursion on shore. On one occasion Miss 
Skene and the rest were admiring the view from a little 
height, when the sky suddenly grew black, and vivid 
lightning could be seen in the distance. The passengers 
turned and ran for shelter. As Miss Skene was flying at 
full speed down the steep descent, a little door opened and 
a fat Turk made his appearance. Catching sight of 
this thing in female garb whisking past he became con- 
vulsed with terror. Never before had he seen a woman 
run ; for to a Turkish woman running is a physical impos- 
sibility. The man tore his turban over his eyes in a fit of 
veritable panic, and almost burst in his door in his anxiety 
to get out of the way of what he evidently believed to be a 
ghost or a deadly ghoul. 

The storm that ensued when the passengers had reached 
the shelter of the vessel was such as most of them had 
never before witnessed. The blasts of the wind were tre- 
mendous, and the river was lashed into all the fury of a 
tempestuous sea, the waves rising to a very considerable 
height. The captain was fain to make fast under the 
shelter of the high bank, there to ride out the storm. 
The rain fell in a perfect deluge, the water coming down 
in tremendons torrents, while the earth was covered with 
darkness like that of midnight. The storm ended as 
suddenly as it had begun, the sun shining out brilliantly 

almost without a moment's warning. 

88 



STEAMING UP THE DANUBE 

At a certain village of good size the captain gave a 
reluctant permission to some of his people to land. He 
warned them that the natives of the place would be likely 
to prove hostile, if not worse, since the boat's passengers 
would probably be the very first foreigners the villagers 
had seen. The sequel proved that the captain was not far 
wrong. A tremendous crowd had assembled to see the 
landing, and the visitors thought it best to be as polite as 
possible. From the first, however, mutterings were heard 
amongst the crowd. As the new-comers made their way 
along the streets they were greeted with loud yells from 
the women, while insults began to be showered upon the 
party from all quarters. " Giaours ! " " Dogs of Christians ! " 
and the like were hurled at them. So serious did the 
threatenings become that the ship's party thought it best 
to make a right-about-face and return. The instant their 
intention was observed a storm of yells, shrieks and 
hootings filled the air, and volleys of stones were thrown. 
The retreat became a hasty flight, and the passengers 
rushed pell-mell along the main streets. Their passage 
was soon blocked by the Turks, and the hunted folk there- 
upon turned down a narrow side-street, followed by the 
townspeople. The race proved that the Christians were 
the better runners, and the bank of the river was gained. 
Luckily the captain, seeing the tumult on shore, had sent 
a boat for his passengers, and all got safely away, with 
nothing more serious than a few bruises from falls and 
from the missiles hurled at them. Miss Skene received a 
nasty blow on the shoulder just as the boat was pushing 
off. 

With Servian territory was reached a more critical part 

89 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

of the river. A stretch of violent rapids, which the captain 
called cataracts, had to be passed, the series culminating in 
the wonderful gorge known as the " Iron Gate." At the 
beginning of the rapids the passengers had to leave the 
steamer and take their seats in a long, flat-bottomed boat, 
which was waiting to convey them up-stream. All were 
seated under the covered fore part of the boat, and the 
baggage was stowed on deck in the after portion ; the 
captain took his place at the bow. To the craft was 
fastened a long rope, and some score of Bulgarian peasants 
proceeded to tow the vessel up the rapids. The progress 
was of course slow and tedious, yet the passengers found 
an interest in the scene around them. The river was 
enclosed between lofty banks of rock, and though the width 
was still enormous, the dimensions of the Danube had 
shrunk considerably. The floods had raised the level of 
the water by several feet, and the volume of the rushing 
river seemed stupendous. Here and there rocks stood 
out above the surface or were only just concealed 
beneath. 

So dangerous did the passage appear to some of the 
people that they begged to be allowed to walk along the 
bank. They found the task a laborious one, the rocks 
being high and difficult. It was plain that these solitudes 
had rarely been invaded by human feet, for vast flocks of 
birds were disturbed at every moment, while deer were 
seen in plenty in the bordering thickets. The woods were 
full of game of every sort, including bears and wild boars ; 
the latter, luckily for the passengers, kept at a distance. 

On approaching the formidable " Iron Gate," the pas- 
sengers were compelled to betake themselves to the 

90 



STEAMING UP THE DANUBE 

boat again, and soon the dreaded spot was reached. An 
enormous rock ridge, a couple of thousand yards in length, 
stretched across the river, leaving only a very narrow 
and shallow passage. Over the ridge the mighty Danube 
poured its Avaters in a vast cataract, the crest broken into 
a thousand whirlpools and eddies by the sharp protruding 
rocks. The place alarmed the passengers, as well it might, 
for it was at all times terribly dangerous. When the 
water is low the passage is impossible for a craft of any 
size, but fortunately for Miss Skene and her neighbours 
the floods had rendered the passage practicable. The 
captain was himself in a state of nervous anxiety. When, 
after a period of frightened suspense on the part of every- 
body, the boat emerged upon the smoother water of the 
upper river, even the captain seemed to be intensely 
relieved. 

Orsova was at last reached, and the passengers stepped 
from their boat on to Austrian soil. Here, after a short 
rest, Miss Skene went on board a new steamer, the pas- 
sengers of which were quite a different set from those with 
whom she had companied for so long. The scenery rapidly 
changed as the boat made its progress up the river. The 
mountains began to close in on the stream, and at length 
an enormous precipice appeared in front. So far as 
could be seen, voyage and river alike had come to a 
sudden termination. As the place was neared, however, 
a narrow passage through the towering heights was seen, 
and through that the steamboat made its way. Im- 
mediately the precipice seemed to close again behind 

them, and the occupants found themselves in a " defile of 

91 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

such surpassing grandeur " that Miss Skene was certain 
nothing anywhere else could equal it. 

The savage wildness of the place impressed every person 
on board, and perhaps frightened the greater part of the 
folk. The cliffs towered up to inaccessible heights on 
either hand. In the face could be seen caverns, some of 
them half hidden by the drooping branches of trees. The 
breadth of the Danube was only about a couple of hundred 
feet, though no great way back it had been more than a 
couple of miles. The water, the party were told, is a 
hundred and seventy feet deep at this place, or a depth 
far exceeding that of the greater part of the Straits of 
Dover. The water " came rolling, thundering and foam- 
ing down between the rock walls with the most terrific 
force, the whole of its vast volume in a very convulsion, as 
it twined its glittering length, serpentlike, round these 
mighty rocks, and licked their rugged sides with its 
clouds of froth. There was something really awful in 
this scene. The deep roaring of the waters, as grand 
as it was terrible — the lofty height of the inaccessible 
precipices — and the rapidity with which, twisting and 
turning, every instant presented some new feature of 
the sublime landscape — certainly rendered it a most 
singularly imposing sight." 

To face the extraordinary current running through this 

stupendous gorge taxed all the powers of the steamer and 

all the skill of master and crew. The vessel reeled from 

side to side, and the " greatest promptitude and care were 

needed in the management of the vessel," to " avoid the 

innumerable Scyllas and Charybdis of the defile." A 

92 



STEAMING UP THE DANUBE 

huge rock, called " Kazan," stands gaunt and threatening 
in the very narrowest and worst part of the passage, a 
source of great danger. Fortunately for the passengers, 
even this most terrifying part of the Danube was navigated 
in safety, though for all the rest of that day the ship had 
to plough its way between the towering cliffs and among 
the seething, frothing waves of the agitated river. 



93 



VIII 

DANGERS ON THE EUPHRATES AND ITS TRIBUTARIES 

Sir Henry Layard's early travels in Persia — He takes passage in a fuel 
boat on the River Karun — Disagreeable passage — Violent dispute as 
to the fare — Pilgrims to Kerbela— Layard robbed of his money — 
Strange scenes on the Jerrahi — "Whole population take to rafts — 
Layard left in a deserted village — Dogs and jackals — He makes a raft 
and gets away — Marauding cavalry — Layard travels along the 
Euphrates valley with a postman — Attacked by robbers — Blackmail 
— Chased by Arabs on dromedaries — Village attacked in the night by 
Shammar tribe — A Turk — Narrow escape — Stripped naked and left — 
The first steamer on the Karun — The rapids — Stranded on land away 
from the river — Fort constructed round ship — Sudden rise of the river 
in the night — Vessel floated back to the river — Navigability of the 
Karun. 

Some sixty-six years ago the famous traveller, Sir A. H. 
Layard, then a young man, his remarkable Nineveh ex- 
plorations all as yet in the future, was travelling in Persia. 
His experiences in that distant and imperfectly civilized 
land w ere varied enough to satisfy the greediest of adven- 
ture-lovers. We may join him at the town of Shuster, an 
important place situated on two navigable streams, of 
which the Karun, a considerable affluent of the Euphrates, 
is the principal. He had his horse stolen here, the place 
being just then subject to the unwelcome attentions of 
certain robber tribes. He accordingly took his passage 

in an undecked boat for Ahwaz, an Arab station some fifty 

94 



DANGERS ON THE EUPHRATES 

miles below on the river. The boat was small and dirty, 
and nearly all the space was filled with firewood. The few 
other passengers were Persians on their way to the holy 
city of Kerbela. 

The voyage began at sunset and continued till a wood 
was reached, when the crew landed to cut down fuel for 
sale. The boat became more laden than ever, and the 
passengers had no very comfortable time of it. Mr. Layard 
occupied himself in sounding the river at various points, 
with the object of finding to what extent the stream was 
navigable. At Ahwaz all the passengers disembarked, and 
the Englishman offered the captain the ordinary fare, 
amounting to but a few pence. The man refused the sum 
with scorn and indignation. He knew his passenger to 
be an Englishman, and presumed he was wealthy, and 
able to pay an amount that would have represented the 
hire of the whole boat. The traveller stoutly refused to 
pay more than his fellow-passengers, having received 
nothing more than they. An angry dispute immediately 
ensued, in which the men on the shore joined. Words 
ran high on the part of the captain and his friends, 
and things began to look serious. The fellows drew their 
swords, or produced heavy wooden clubs, whereupon the 
Englishman levelled his gun and swore to shoot the first 
man who molested him. How the ugly-looking affair 
would have ended had not a peacemaker appeared on the 
scene it is hard to say. This was an Arab whom Mr. 
Layard had known in Shuster. The captain of the boat 
accepted the fare tendered, but carried off the English- 
man's saddle. 

But now the pilgrims for Kerbela began to weep and 

95 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

lament. They had hoped to be let off the payment of 

their passage altogether, but the captain did not view 

things in that light. A tremendous crying and hubbub 

resulted, and at last a Persian offered to bear the whole 

expense of their pilgrimage. This man was himself one 

of the pilgrims, and his generosity appeared to Layard so 

astonishing in a Persian that he began to suspect there 

was something wrong. There was; the traveller now 

discovered that he had been robbed of his belt, which 

contained the whole of his money save a trifle of loose 

cash, worth some five shillings. The wily Persian had 

taken the belt while the Englishman slept on board 

the boat. An appeal to the local justice brought no 

redress, the official being evidently in league with the 

captain of the boat and other rascals of the town. 

Hence then the explorer, reduced in resources to a few 

shillings, had to make his way as best he could. After a 

rough time of it he found himself on the banks of the 

Jerrahi, at the little town of Kareiba. Next morning the 

stranger witnessed extraordinary scenes in the town. A 

messenger arrived with orders from the chief that the 

inhabitants should at once abandon the place. This was 

on account of a rebellion then on foot, the head of which 

was a certain Mehemet Taki Khan, though it was not 

Mehemet they feared. It was reported that this insurgent 

had crossed the Jerrahi only three miles above Kareiba. 

The greatest confusion instantly prevailed in the town. 

Huts were torn down in order that the materials might 

be made into rafts. The whole population sought to float 

themselves, their children, and their belongings down the 

river to Fellahiyah. "Domestic utensils, such as cald- 

96 



DANGERS ON THE EUPHRATES 

rons, cooking-pots, and iron plates for making bread, with 
quilts, carpets, sacks of corn and rice, and the poultry, 
which had been in the meantime captured by the naked 
children, were piled upon them. The herdsmen were 
collecting: their cattle and their flocks. All were scream- 
ing at the top of their voices, and sometimes the men, 
ceasing from their work, and joining hands, would dance 
in a circle, shouting their war song." 

By this time plenty of rafts from the higher parts of the 
river began to float past, the orders of the chief having 
been promptly obeyed there. By the afternoon most of 
the folks of the village had gone off on their rafts, while 
the few who were left were in terrible dread lest the 
irregular cavalry under Matamet, who was in chase of 
Mehemet Taki Khan, should swoop down upon them. 
It was Matamet who was to be feared, not the rebel 
Mehemet. 

The English traveller found himself in a quandary. 
The roads were impracticable, the whole countryside being 
under water. As a matter of fact, the dikes of the rivers 
and canals had been destroyed. The people of Kareiba 
had no time or though c to give to a stranger, and Mr. 
Layard had much ado Eo get a meal. By the evening, the 
sheikh of the village was ready to depart, his wives and 
children with his goods having been put on board a large 
boat, the only one of which the village could boast. There 
was room to spare, and the traveller begged for a passage. 
To the request, the sheikh answered insultingly that he 
would not pollute his boat by taking an infidel Christian. 
The surly fellow then pushed off, leaving Layard the only 
human being in the place. Tired out, the solitary man 
7 97 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

gathered together a few bits of carpet and tried to get 
some sleep. But his peace was soon broken by the dogs, 
many of which had been abandoned by the villagers in 
their hasty flight. The brutes gave vent to piteous howls, 
and he had a good deal of trouble to keep them at a dis- 
tance. Hundreds of jackals had invaded the deserted 
village in search of any food that might have been left, 
and their cries were noisy and disquieting, to say the least 
of it. It was, moreover, quite possible that lions might 
make their appearance, while, worse than all, there were 
prowling bands of cavalry on the look-out for plunder. 
These robber horsemen were scouring the country in all 
directions, and might at any moment pay a visit to 
Kareiba. Anything more forlorn and dispiriting than 
Mr. Layard's position at that time, it is not easy to 
imagine. 

He sat in the darkness till the moon arose; then he 
began to bestir himself. Collecting a number of reeds, 
and a couple of tent-poles, he managed to make a raft 
capable of bearing his weight. When all was ready he 
pushed off into the river, the howling dogs following him 
for a little distance. He kept as far as possible in the 
middle of the stream and floated easily down. Every- 
where the banks of the river lower down showed the same 
extraordinary excitement and feverish haste that had been 
witnessed at Kareiba not many hours before. Whole 
herds of camels, buffaloes and sheep were being made to 
swim across the river and the canals. Men were sitting 
astride of inflated sheepskins, carrying their children on 
their shoulders, thus crossing to what was considered to 

be the safer side of the Jerrahi. Clouds of smoke filled 

98 



DANGERS ON THE EUPHRATES 

the air in various parts, the people having fired all the 
grain crops that were ripe. Every man was getting him- 
self and his away with the least possible delay. Thus 
within a few hours a populous country — for the district 
was crowded with villages — was entirely depopulated. 
We "need not follow the Englishman in his dealings and 
adventures with the insurgent Mehemet Tali Khan, whose 
acquaintance he had made some time before, and with 
whose demands for reform and better government on the 
part of the Shah he sympathized. 

At a later stage of his travels, Layard suffered many 
things from the Arab robbers who infested the country. 
This was in the valley of the mighty Euphrates, or rather 
in and about the marshes which run for a great distance 
on both sides of its banks. He had left the far-famed 
Basrah — the Bassorah of the Arabian Nights — in the 
company of a man carrying the letters, no steamer to 
Baghdad being available. Mr. Layard thought it well to 
disguise himself, the dangers of the way being certain and 
formidable. The journey began with a long wade of three 
miles through the marshes, and then the'postmen and his 
companions betook themselves to the hills till night per- 
mitted them to approach the marsh and the valley again. 
All night long the travellers had to be on the watch. At 
any moment a lion might be encountered, or bands of 
robber horsemen might make their appearance. Next 
morning a long drove of camels was met, the fellows with 
them being a rough-looking set. Salutations were ex- 
changed between the herdsmen and the postman's party, 
and the danger seemed past, when all at once some of the 

Arabs on foot seized one of the riders by the leg and 

99 

LOFC. 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

jerked him to the ground. The unfortunate man was 
instantly stripped of everything he wore. The fellows 
evidently intended to try the same sort of game on the 
foreigner, but he was on the watch. The postman now 
explained that he and his companions were carrying 
dispatches for the English Government. The chief man 
of the herdsmen thereupon demanded blackmail for per- 
mission to go through his territory. In the end the 
Arabs, after stealing one or two of the silver pieces they 
found on the party, allowed them to proceed on their 
journey. But this was not quite the end of the affair, 
after all ; though the chief might be satisfied, some of his 
men were not, and they had to be beaten off with clubs 
by the sheikh and another of the tribe. 

Within an hour the postman and his friends found 
themselves chased by a couple of Arabs on dromedaries. 
There were a number of sand-heaps scattered about the 
valley, and for some time an exciting game of hide-and- 
seek was kept up. Then a couple more dromedary riders 
joined their fellows, and it became a race between horse 
and dromedary. Though the former beasts were wearied 
with their heavy journey, they gradually drew away from 
the pursuers, and the Englishman and his travelling 
companions escaped farther robbery and ill-treatment. 

In the Semawa district lived a notorious Arab tribe, 
and to avoid passing through the midst of them, the party 
hired a boat, and in this they proceeded for five miles on 
the Euphrates itself. The risks attending the voyage 
were great, and Mr. Layard had to lie all the time at the 
bottom of the craft, and covered, lest he should be ob- 
served. Had he been found, there is no doubt the Arabs 

100 



DANGERS ON THE EUPHRATES 

would have extorted a large sum of money from him. On 
leaving the boat the party managed to procure fresh 
horses, of which they stood in sore need. But they were 
not destined to have an easy journey even now. They 
reached a flooded district ; in truth the country presented 
an extraordinary spectacle. The swollen Euphrates had 
burst its banks, and the Persian authorities had made no 
attempt to repair the damage. The result was that an 
enormous tract of country was lying deep in water, a 
country that recently had been thickly populated and well 
tilled. 

From bad the wayfarers presently fell into worse. At a 
small village to which they came, they heard alarming 
news. A large body of Shammar Arabs was declared to 
be plundering right and left about the country. That this 
was no false alarm was proved by the events of that same 
night, when the village suffered an attack at the hands of 
the marauders. There was much firing, much noise, and 
much excitement, but the enemy finally left the place, and 
Mr. Layard was enabled to spread his carpet and sleep in 
peace. Being assured next morning that the district was 
now clear of the Shammar robbers, the Englishman and 
his friend the postman set out once more. In the course 
of the day they heard the Bedouin war-cry, and perceived 
that they were being pursued by a gang of Shammar 
horsemen. The tired beasts which carried Mr. Layard 
and the rest of his party were no match for the splendid 
horses of the insurgent gang. 

They were soon overtaken, the Arabs coming on at full 

speed, and drawing up only when their spear-points were 

within an inch or two of the Englishman's body. In an 

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ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

instant he and the postman were thrown from their horses. 
The critical scene that followed is best told in Sir Henry's 
own words. 

" When I fell my ' keffiyeh ' dropped off, and exposed a 
red ' tarbush,' or fez, which I had put on under it to pro- 
tect my head from the sun. One of the Arabs cried out 
that I was a ' Toork,' and a man who had dismounted, 
seizing hold of me as I lay upon the ground, drew a knife, 
and endeavoured to kneel upon my chest. I struggled, 
thinking he intended to cut my throat, calling out to 
one of the party who, mounted upon a fine mare, appeared 
to be a sheikh, that I was not a ' Toork,' but an English- 
man. He ordered the man to release me, and then told 
me to get up." The sheikh, a good-looking fellow, ex- 
amined the traveller's features closely, and then exclaimed, 
" Billah ! he tells the truth. He is the English ' hakim ' 
(doctor) of Baghdad, and he is my friend, and the English 
are the friends of our tribe." It was clear to Mr. Layard 
that the sheikh had mistaken him for Dr. Ross, another 
Englishman, resident at Baghdad. It is certain that to 
this mistake Layard owed his life. As it was the Arabs 
stripped him and the postman before they went, leaving 
the two men naked almost to the skin. To their infinite 
relief they sighted Baghdad the next day, and, managing 
to cross the Tigris on a raft, arrived in a deplorable con- 
dition indeed, but safe and sound. 

Not the least interesting of Layard's experiences in 

Persia were the attempts to navigate the river Karun, of 

which stream, he had, as we have seen, made a goodly 

number of soundings. The first steamer to attempt the 

ascent was the Assyria, under Lieutenant Selby, and Mr. 

102 



DANGERS ON THE EUPHRATES 

Layard was one of those who assisted on the occasion. 
The river was swollen high, the floods expending far 
beyond the normal banks, and the current was exceedingly 
swift ! The chief difficulty in the early part of the passage 
was with the rapids at Ahwaz. It seemed impossible that 
the vessel should pass the rock-strewn eddies and whirl- 
pools. But Selby was not a man to be daunted easily. 
He had a hawser made fast to the shore, and his crew held 
themselves in readiness to pull at a given signal, adding 
their strength to that of the engines. Then full steam 
ahead was ordered, and as the Assyria neared the only 
practicable opening, she trembled from stem to stern with 
the force of the current. " It was a moment of intense 
anxiety and excitement, for, had any accident occurred, 
such as the parting of the rope, she would have been in 
imminent danger of being driven against the rocks below 
the bend, and of being shattered to pieces. I was stand- 
ing on one of the paddle-boxes watching her with bated 
breath. For a moment she was motionless, as if struggling 
for the mastery." Then a hearty cheer announced the 
success of the efforts made, and the ship was in compar- 
atively smooth water. 

Yet the progress made in ascending the stream was slow 
at the best, the rapidity with which the current was flow- 
ing making the passage difficult. Selby therefore kept 
away from the river proper, navigating the outer floods, 
in fact. The imprudence of this plan appeared presently, 
when, after several groundings, the Assyria stuck for 
good, apparently, and remained immovable. She lay 
outside the river course, and the floods were rapidly sub- 
siding. Next morning the boat was high and dry, and 

103 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

a goodish way from the Karun, not a pleasant position, 
more especially as gangs of Arab robbers were prowling 
about the country. 

There were, as a matter of fact, two dangers to be 
guarded against ; the robbers might attack, or, a not less 
likely event, the Persian authorities might attempt to 
seize the steamer. To forestall either party Lieutenant 
Selby threw up earthworks round the vessel, and disem- 
barking the guns, placed them in position. The fort was 
defended by the crew and a number of marines. This 
singular state of things can rarely have been paralleled. 
Here was a steamboat actually within the enclosure of a 
land fort, no water anywhere near ! 

But the problem of getting off the Assyria was pressing. 
All attempts to move the vessel by means of rollers 
proved fruitless; the rainy season was nearing its end; 
the river was daily sinking. Selby consequently deter- 
mined to dig a big trench to the Karun. At once the 
work of moving everything movable from the ship was 
begun. Stores, furniture, and goods of all kinds were 
brought out and laid on the bank. Even the machinery 
was taken to pieces. By the help of a large number of 
hired men the trench was dug, slowly but surely. The 
digging operations were nearing their close, and soon, it 
was hoped, the result of all the heavy labours would be 
seen. 

By the irony of fate, the river suddenly began to rise, in 

the middle of the night, and without the least previous 

warning. Welcome as the sight of the rising floods was 

to the crew, it yet caused consternation. All the goods, 

provisions, machinery, and the like were lying on the 

104 



DANGERS ON THE EUPHRATES 

bank and in imminent danger of being swept off or 
damaged irretrievably. All hands were turned out at 
once in the darkness of the night, and a scene of strenu- 
ous exertions was witnessed. Luckily everything was got 
on board the Assyria in time, and next morning the 
floods had risen to such an extent that the vessel was 
easily floated into the river again, without the help of 
the canal that had been dug at the cost of so much 
labour. Eventually the Assyria was navigated to within 
a mile of the town of Shuster, where farther progress was 
stopped by a stone dam. A most important fact had 
been established ; a vessel of the size of the Assyria could 
reach, "from the Euphrates, the foot of the mountains 
over which tracks lead to Ispahan and into the very heart 
of Persia." 



105 



IX 

LIVINGSTONE AS AN ELEPHANT HUNTER 

Livingstone not strictly a big-game hunter — Larder had to be replenished, 
however— Buffalo behind, elephants in front — Dam elephant and 
calf stalked by blacks — Animals apostrophized — Dam deserts calf at 
first — At bay — Hippopotamus destructive to crops — Marvellous 
'amount of wild animals in Zambesi valley — The beasts have no fear 
of man — Speared elephant resembles gigantic porcupine — Mr. Oswell, 
Livingstone's companion — The terrible nature of the thorn scrub — 
Oswell encounters a huge elephant in the thorn thickets — Thrown 
from his horse — Under the elephant's body — Throws his legs apart — 
Remarkable escape. 

The famous missionary traveller, Dr. Livingstone, would 

most certainly have disclaimed for himself any such 

title as " big-game hunter." With the abounding pity 

always lying in his breast, he would have been the last 

man in the world to kill for mere sport's sake. Yet, in 

self-defence at one time, or driven by the necessity of 

feeding himself and his company at all times, it was 

necessary to hunt to the death, now a hippopotamus, now 

a buffalo, and again an elephant. It sometimes fell out 

that quite a number of adventures with the same kind of 

animal followed one another in close succession. This was 

the case when for the second time he was making his way 

to the lordly Zambesi. 

The missionary party were traversing a specially 

beautiful valley, in which big game was very plentiful. 

The first animal to catch the Doctor's eye was a buffalo, 

106 



LIVINGSTONE, ELEPHANT HUNTER 

and as the larder was by no means well stored just then, 
he put three bullets into him. The buffalo, however, 
was by no means killed, and prepared to charge his 
aggressors. Everybody made for the shelter of some 
rocks near. But their hasty stampede in that direction 
was brought to a sudden stop by the sight of three 
elephants, which blocked the way. Here was an awkward 
pass — an infuriated buffalo behind, three huge African 
elephants in front. Then an unexpected turn of events 
came ; the elephants wheeled round and made off. At the 
same time the buffalo was observed to be moving away 
with all speed. Livingstone, disappointed at his failure to 
procure a fresh supply of meat, took a long shot at one of 
the elephants. To the joy of his men, the bullet brought 
the animal down, its leg broken. It was speedily 
dispatched by the next shot, this time at close quarters, 
which pierced the brain. The killing of the elephant 
brought, from the neighbourhood round, quite a gathering 
of natives, all eager to share the unwonted plenty. 

On the very next day, while the carcass was being cut 
up, Livingstone ascended some rocks to survey the valley, 
and saw, a couple of miles away, a dam elephant and her 
calf. The two were playing together by the water's edge, 
and the young one was rolling in the mud with the 
utmost delight. Before long the Doctor noted, by the aid 
of his field glass, a string of his own men away on the 
farther side of the two elephants. He guessed that they 
were about to stalk the animals, and he watched their 
proceedings, being curious to see their methods of dealing 
with large game of that kind. 

As yet the elephants were quite unconscious of the near 

107 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

presence of foes, and were engaged in besmearing each 
other with mud. Then suddenly the blacks began a call, 
making the noise either with a tube of some kind, or with 
their hands closed. This was to attract the attention of 
the game. The words thus shouted were, " O chief ! 
chief! we have come to kill you. chief! chief! many 
more will die besides you," and so on in similar strain. 

The elephants listened, and then, seeing the men 
running towards them, left the water. The calf ran 
away, but, finding itself confronted by foes, went back to 
the mother, who stroked it with her trunk as if to reassure 
it. All this time the black fellows kept up a tremendous 
din, shouting, piping, yelling. The dam seemed hardly 
to know whether to stay to protect her young one or to 
dash off to the encounter with the enemies who had dared 
to invade their retreat. The men were in two gangs, and 
these gradually approached the elephants from different 
quarters, till, as the animals took to the river, they came 
up with them, or at least to the bank of the stream. 

Many spears were now thrown at the beast, and soon 

her flanks were red with blood. Livingstone was very 

anxious to spare the calf, and accordingly sent a man to 

give instructions to that effect. However, before the 

messenger had reached the spot, the little one had been 

killed in the water. Now the mother, which had been 

making off as if fearful for her own safety, and not so 

much concerned for her calf, suddenly stopped. Then 

with a mad roar she charged furiously. The hunters 

scattered right and left in hot haste, and the elephant, 

keeping a straight course, actually ran quite through the 

party without injuring anybody. Indeed, she did not 

108 



LIVINGSTONE, ELEPHANT HUNTER 

seem to make for any particular man, except one, who 
wore a piece of bright-coloured cloth on his shoulders. 
Such showy colours are always dangerous to the wearer in 
situations of this sort. Again and again the dam charged, 
each time sending her persecutors flying in all directions. 
Then she recrossed the river, receiving more spears on the 
passage, and again she made a stand. Thus the hunt 
went on, till at length the animal fell through sheer loss 
of blood. This occurred as she was attempting another 
charge. She sank to the ground in a kneeling position. 
Livingstone writes : " I did not see the whole hunt. . . . 
I turned from the spectacle of the destruction of noble 
animals, which might be made so useful in Africa, with a 
feeling of sickness, and it was not relieved by the recollec- 
tion that the ivory was mine, though that was the case. I 
regretted to see them killed, and more especially the calf, 
the meat not being at all necessary at that time ; but it is 
right to add that I did not feel sick when my blood was 
up the day before. We ought perhaps to judge those 
deeds more leniently in which we ourselves have no 
temptation to engage." And the Doctor adds that he 
had no room to pride himself on his superior humanity, 
seeing that he himself had been guilty of the very same 
sort of thing. 

Leaving the elephant country, Livingstone reached the 
river Kafue, which was forded at a place where it was at 
least two hundred and fifty yards wide. Here hippo- 
potamuses were plentiful, so plentiful, indeed, that the 
natives of the district are obliged to devise means for the 

protection of their grain crops. This they accomplish by 

109 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

making pitfalls, into which the animals often drop. The 

Doctor shot a cow hippopotamus, meat having run 

short. 

His first notion had been to follow the river Kafue to 

its junction with the Zambesi, but on second thoughts 

it seemed better to make a short cut across the intervening 

hills. Here the party found themselves in an elephant 

district once more, and the men managed to secure three 

of the animals. A glorious view was the reward of the 

missionary when, after a toilsome ascent, he found himself 

at the top of the ridge, with the magnificent Zambesi 

valley spread out below. Not only was the view splendid, 

but the country had in it more large game than any other 

place he had ever seen, even in Africa. Buffaloes and 

zebras by the hundred were seen grazing in every open 

space ; pigs of a red colour stood staring in wonder at the 

men ; above all, the huge elephants were so plentiful and 

so tame, that almost anywhere it was possible to approach 

to within two or three hundred yards of them without 

disturbing them. It was, in truth, a marvellous sight, 

and one that, as population increases, will not much 

longer be possible on this earth of ours. The animals 

seemed, moreover, to be little if at all afraid of man. 

The explanation was that the place was hardly ever 

visited, even by the natives, and practically never hunted ; 

thus the animals had it all their own way. Of a particular 

spot in the district the missionary writes : " The numbers 

of large game were quite astonishing. I never saw 

elephants so tame as those near the Chiponga; they 

stood close to our path without being in the least afraid. 

110 



LIVINGSTONE, ELEPHANT HUNTER 

This is different from their conduct where they have 
been used to guns, for there they take alarm at the 
distance of a mile, and begin to run if a shot is fired even 
at a longer distance." His men killed another elephant 
here, the flesh being left to the villagers, who had most 
generously given the party of their meal. 

So tame were the animals hereabouts, in fact, that the 
buffaloes would come close up to look at Livingstone's 
oxen. Stranger still, the party had often to shout at the 
elephants, which would stand on the very path, gazing at 
the strangers. Here a female elephant was found with 
three young ones of different sizes. The Doctor had 
never seen an elephant with more than one calf before. 
This animal, with her young, suddenly took alarm, and 
the whole four swept down right upon the company, 
causing the carriers to throw down their burdens and 
scatter in all directions. For its pains the poor brute 
received a spear, but both dam and calves got away 
without further damage. 

The magnificent Zambesi was now reached, and the 
good missionary was entranced with the scene, and 
astonished at the dimensions of the river. By this time 
his party had become a very numerous one, and conse- 
quently there was needed a good deal of meat. The 
game was always there, however, and only needed 
successful hunting. The men attacked a whole troop 
of elephants they met with one day, provisions having 
become scarce. One of the animals in its haste to run 
away fell into a hole. Before he could struggle out 

again he had received a perfect hail of spears. Every 

111 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

one of the seventy or eighty men of the party had 
thrown more than one spear at the poor beast, so that 
when he came out of the hole he presented the appear- 
ance of a gigantic porcupine. Livingstone, in order to 
put the animal out of his pain, shot into different parts 
of him no fewer than twelve two-ounce bullets ! But all 
this did not kill him, and the Doctor left the creature 
till next day, feeling sure he would find him dead in the 
morning. When the daylight came, however, not a trace 
of the elephant could be seen. The traveller gives it as 
his opinion, that it is almost certain death to any hunter 
who adopts with the African elephant the plan used by 
elephant hunters in Ceylon, namely, to stand directly in 
front of the animal, and shoot at close quarters, with the 
notion of piercing the brain. 

The missionary adds an account of an elephant adven- 
ture that befell, not himself, but his friend and companion, 
Mr. Oswell. This gentleman, Livingstone says, had had 
more narrow escapes than any other man living, but his 
modesty was such as to forbid him from talking about 
himself and his exploits. It was on the banks of the 
Zouga river. The neighbourhood of the banks was as 
usual covered with a thick fringe of stout thorn bushes. 
These thorns are serious things to encounter, and in 
truth horses cannot be induced to face them at all. The 
spines are placed in pairs on " opposite sides of the 
branches, and these turn round on being pressed against, 
one pair brings the other exactly into the position in 
which it must pierce the intruder. They cut like knives." 

Into a dense thicket of this kind Mr. Oswell pursued 

112 



LIVINGSTONE, ELEPHANT HUNTER 

an elephant, that animal being accustomed to betake 
himself to such bushes for safety when attacked. The 
Englishman was on horseback, and followed the elephant 
along a narrow pathway there was in the thicket. He 
lifted up the opposing branches here and there where 
necessary, in his anxiety to keep close on the trail. 
Suddenly, at a spot where he had got himself jammed 
in pretty tightly among the thorns, Mr. Oswell descried 
the elephant, which he had almost lost sight of, bearing 
straight down upon him. He turned and sought to flee, 
trying hard to force his horse through the bushes, there 
being no time to lift up branches. This he could not do, 
and realizing the extremity of the danger in which he 
stood, he tried to dismount, so as to make off on foot. 
Unfortunately his foot was caught by a branch, and this 
caused his spur to drag along the horse's flank, scoring 
it badly/ The animal gave a plunge and threw his rider 
violently to the ground, face towards the elephant. The 
unwieldy brute, full of rage, was upon him in a moment, 
and he beheld one of the huge fore-feet descending upon 
his prostrate body, or rather upon his legs. Quick as 
thought, the man threw his legs apart, and so escaped the 
first step. Then he drew in his breath to stand the 
awful pressure of the other descending foot. Luckily, and 
most strangely, that, too, missed him. There as he lay, 
he saw the whole body of the huge beast pass over him, 
yet he was not touched. Presently he was able to spring 
to his feet again, when he found that his horse had like- 
wise received no injury. It was a remarkable escape, 

and the Doctor states that he never heard of more than 
8 113 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

one other authentic instance in which an elephant went 
over a man without injury. And he adds that, " for any 
one who knows the nature of the bush in which this 
occurred, the very thought of an encounter in it with 
such a foe is appalling." 



114 



X 

WITH SPEKE ON THE UPPER NILE 

The Nile a mystery from very ancient times — Speke discovers Victoria 
Nyanza — Sent out again to prove whether the lake is the source of 
the Nile — Lands at Zanzibar — His men take to marauding — Natives 
terrified by guns — Speke and his companion Grant for a time follow 
different routes — A three-mile swamp — Bank of Nile reached — 
River traced up to the Victoria Nyanza — Speke's triumphant feelings 
— Ripon Falls — His men again turn piratical — The difficulties in the 
Unyoro territory — Wanyoro boats attack the expedition — Critical 
situation — "They are women!" — Grant returns with unfavourable 
news of N'yamyon jo, a native official — Speke and Grant compelled to 
abandon Nile passage. 

Ever since the earliest dawn of history, and doubtless 

for untold ages before, until almost our own time, the 

origin of the mighty and sacred river Nile has been a 

mystery to civilized man. Whence does it spring ? was 

the question asked by so many inquiring minds in ancient 

as in modern days. From what far-off and hidden spot 

in the " Dark Continent " does that mighty stream start 

to make its way to the distant Mediterranean waters ? 

The nineteenth century answered those questions, thanks 

to the determination, the skill, and the courage of various 

explorers, the more notable among them being our own 

countrymen, a fact of which the British people are proud, 

and justly proud. 

In the year 1858 one of the finest of our African 

explorers, J. H. Speke, discovered the great lake, the 

115 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

Victoria Nyanza, far away in equatorial Africa, and on his 
return to England in the spring of 1859 he asserted that 
this vast lake would prove to be the real source of the 
Nile. The Royal Geographical Society eagerly proposed 
another expedition, that Speke might prove, if possible, 
the truth of the assertion. Some vexatious delays came, 
but at last, in the spring of 1860, accompanied by Captain 
Grant, he set out once more for the wilds of east-central 
Africa. 

We may pass by their earlier doings, between Zanzibar, 
where the explorers landed, and the territory of Uganda, 
ruled over by the powerful king Mtesa. From the capital 
of this monarch, Speke marched eastward towards the 
Nile, his intention being, when he had struck the river, to 
trace it to the point whence, as he believed, it would be 
found to issue from the Victoria Nyanza. If he found 
it did so issue, his main work would be done, and the 
long-sought source of old Father Nile would have been 
discovered ! 

The expedition reached the settlement of Kari after 
some days' march, but not without troubles. Speke's 
native servants could not be induced to keep their hands 
off the property of the blacks, who fled from every village 
as the exploring party approached. In spite of all orders 
and threats, Speke found it impossible to stop the plunder- 
ing habits of his men, and the expedition became, as he 
remarks, more like a marauding campaign than a peaceful 
journey of discovery. The result would be seen later on, 
as the chief explorer well knew. 

He had not long to wait. While staying at Kari for a 

day or two, one of the men of the party went off plunder- 

116 



WITH SPEKE ON THE UPPER NILE 

ing on his own account, taking with him only a few boys 
of the Waganda escort. The raiders approached a village, 
quite expecting the inhabitants to run away in the usual 
fashion. As it happened, there were only the women of 
the settlement visible, but these set up a loud yelling, 
which soon brought out the men of the place. The 
would-be robbers now turned tail and would have fled ; 
but they were overtaken, and Kari, the man who had 
started the thieving expedition, pointed his gun at the 
assailants. Unluckily for him, it was not charged. The 
savages looked upon the weapon as a magic horn, and 
killed Kari with their spears, and made off. The news 
was carried back by the survivors, and later in the day the 
dead body was brought into the camp. It was a most 
untoward event, to say the least of it. 

Speke and his companion now parted company for a 
while. As it was their intention to procure boats and 
make their way up the Nile, it was most advisable to 
conciliate the powerful chiefs through whose territories 
they would have to pass. Of these chiefs the principal 
was the ruler of the Unyoro country, Kamrasi. To this 
man Grant set off with a number of followers across 
country in a northerly direction, while Speke himself 
pursued his eastern course to the banks of the Nile, which 
he intended to strike at a place called Urondogani. On 
the way Speke came upon a huge rush-grown swamp 
some three miles broad, or rather a river, for it drains into 
the Nile. The cows carried along with the expedition 
swam across this formidable obstruction, the black servants 
holding on to the tails of the animals. The leader and 
others of his following were able to ford the Luajerri, as 

117 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the stream is called, till they were quite near the further 
bank ; the last portion had to be done in boats. It was a 
long and heavy task to get everybody and everything 
over, the business taking four hours. The mosquitoes in 
myriads made the passage anything but a pleasant one. 
The travellers after this lost their way for want of guides, 
but at last reached the desired point, Urondogani, and the 
Nile. 

" Here at last I stood on the brink of the Nile," writes 
Speke, with pardonable enthusiasm ; "most beautiful was 
the scene ; nothing could surpass it ! It was the very per- 
fection of the kind of effect aimed at in a highly-kept park ; 
with a magnificent stream from six to seven hundred yards 
wide, dotted with islets and rocks, the former occupied by 
fishermen's huts, the latter by sterns and crocodiles bask- 
ing in the sun — flowing between fine high grassy banks, 
with rich trees and plantains in the background, where 
herds of the nsunnu and hartebeest could be seen grazing, 
while the hippopotami were snorting in the water, and 
florikan and guinea-fowl rising at our feet." 

Speke's plan was now to ascend the river, to the 

Victoria Nyanza, to prove fully what he felt sure 

must be the case, namely, that the Nile is connected 

with and drains that vast expanse of water. He first 

marched as far as the Isamba Rapids, where are some falls 

in the Nile, the spot the most lovely he had ever seen 

outside of a theatre, as he whimsically tells us. Even the 

Wanguana, or the freedmen of Zanzibar, who accompanied 

the expedition as hired servants, were amazed by the 

wild and romantic beauty of the place. 

A vigorous push on brought the party at last to the 

118 



WITH SPEKE ON THE UPPER NILE 

goal they had so long desired, the place where the 
majestic Nile leaves the magnificent lake ! We can 
imagine the feelings of triumph with which Speke gazed 
on the spectacle. The river of mystery had yielded up 
its secret at last ! The Nile rises in the Victoria Nyanza, 
its actual source being the most remote point, at the 
southern end of the lake. The length of this great river 
is thus over two thousand three hundred miles, or " more 
than one-eleventh of the circumference of our globe," as 
Speke puts it. 

Close to the point where the river issues from the lake, 
at its northern end, that is, are the Ripon Falls, "the 
most interesting sight I had seen in Africa," the explorer 
writes. Fine though the falls are, however, the lake itself 
cannot be seen from them, the view being interrupted by 
a spur of hill. The fall is about twelve feet, and the 
breadth of the river there four or five hundred feet. 

" It was a sight that attracted one to it for hours — the 
roar of the waters, the thousands of passenger-fish, leaping 
at the falls with all their might, the Wasoga and Waganda 
fishermen coming out in boats and taking post on all the 
rocks with rod and hook, hippopotami and crocodiles lying 
sleepily on the water, the ferry at work above the falls, 
and cattle driven down to drink at the margin of the lake 
— made, in all, with the pretty nature of the country, as 
interesting a picture as I could wish to see." So writes 
the leader of the expedition. 

But Speke was now ready to begin his passage down 

the Nile. Unfortunately for him the petty native chief who 

had undertaken to provide the necessary boats was not so 

ready, and all there were for the use of the party were 

119 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

five miserable canoes. Each boat consisted of five planks 
tied together with rags, and in these travelled Speke and 
his company of Wanguana, twelve in number, with a 
native named Kasoro and his page-boys, besides baggage, 
dogs and goats. The explorer's goal was Kamrasi's 
palace in Unyoro, lower down the river, but what time 
would have to be spent in getting there no one could say. 
The canoes were propelled by paddles, but the crews were 
a lazy set. 

Kasoro soon began to give trouble, turning pirate and 
thus disgracing the Union Jack the boats carried. Meet- 
ing a number of canoes laden with food and other things 
belonging to the Wanyoro tribe, Kasoro made a raid upon 
them before Speke was aware of what was taking place. 
The Wanyoro fled in hot haste, and then Kasoro coolly 
began his plundering work. His leader, however, soon 
made the thieves restore the property they had taken. 
He pointed out to Kasoro how mad such a course as this 
was, seeing that it was through the country of these very 
Wanyoro the expedition had to pass. The piratical 
African promised to behave better in future. Then the 
canoes were brought to the bank for the night, and the 
Wanyoro craft were thus enabled to get on in front. 

But a serious difficulty now confronted the travellers. 

They were about to leave the territory of the friendly 

king of Uganda, and pass into Unyoro. Permission to 

enter this new country would have to be obtained from 

N'yamyon jo, the native officer in charge of the frontier. 

This man was represented to have a hundred boats, and 

his character was painted in dark colours. Speke's men 

declared that if they attempted to force a passage, and 

120 



WITH SPEKE ON THE UPPER NILE 

did not first speak with N'yamyon jo, there would be 
trouble and great danger. Kasoro flatly refused to go 
on till matters had been settled. Speke, however, argued 
that Grant must by that time have arrived at Kamrasi's 
palace and made all right with that monarch. At last, 
after a hot discussion, it was agreed that Bombay, one of 
the party, should proceed by land to N'yamyon jo with a few 
of the men, while the rest went on with the boats. The 
territory of N'yamyon jo was accordingly entered, the 
leader of the expedition flattering himself that now his 
difficulties were over, and that he would have nothing 
to do but float down tranquilly on the broad bosom of 
the Nile. 

Alas for his expectations ! The boats had not gone 
very far before an enormous canoe was observed coming 
towards them, full of well-armed men. Nevertheless the 
leader pressed on, and the hostile boat turned, as if in 
fear. Faster and faster paddled Speke's men, while the 
page-boys kept up a continual banging on the drums. A 
veritable chase ensued, the Wanyoro boat with its more 
numerous crew winning. At sunset the party came near 
N'yamyon jo's place, and the banks of the river were found 
to be crowded with blacks, all dancing about and brandish- 
ing their spears, and yelling in the most frantic manner. 
At first Speke took these fellows to be Waganda folk, and 
friendly, the demonstration intended as a sign of welcome, 
but a glance at Kasoro soon undeceived him. Lines of 
huts now appeared, and more and more men, all drawn 
up in arms. The prospect before the strangers grew 
rapidly blacker. 

At this moment, the big war canoe, which had fled 

121 



r 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

before the boats of the expedition, turned broadside 
towards the latter, and its crew added their hostile yells 
to those of their brethren on the shore. Speke stood up 
in his boat, and, removing his hat, addressed the enemy. 
He declared himself to be an Englishman, and bound for 
Kamrasi's residence. He might have spared his words, 
for the natives refused to believe anything he said. They 
replied that they had heard the drums beat, and that was 
a challenge to war ; no more was needed to show that the 
strangers had come with hostile intent. War was meant, 
war then let it be. On this the drums began to beat 
loudly from both sides of the river, and the men to prepare 
for a conflict. The little exploring party were in a tight 
place indeed. 

Now another Wanyoro canoe full of armed men came 
out from the rushes where it had been hidden, and took 
up a position to the rear of the strangers. Speke was 
thus cut off from either advance or retreat. Nevertheless, 
retreat seemed to offer the best chance, and as it was 
getting dark, and the boats were badly manned, the leader 
thought it safer to bring his craft together. All the boats 
obeyed his order save one, the crew of which seemed to 
have lost their senses through fright. It " kept spinning 
round anoT round like a crippled duck." 

The enemy, when they saw the retreat, shouted exult- 

ingly, "They are women, they are running, let us at 

them ! " Speke implored his own men to keep together 

and to come to him for powder. But it was all in vain. 

No sooner had one boat been supplied with ammunition 

than it went off at full speed up the river so as to get out 

of danger if possible, while the crew of another canoe 

122 




Speke harangued the excited Warriors in vain 



The hostility of the natives prevented Speke from carrying out hi^ darling project, that ot 
navigating the Nile from source to mouth. 



WITH SPEKE ON THE UPPER NILE 

made for the rushes as a hiding-place in the dark- 
ness. 

By this time it had become very dark. The enemy 
could no longer be seen, but their stealthy approach was 
heard. The attack began by an onset being made on the 
canoe that had hidden in the rushes by the shore. The 
spears thrown by the hostile Wanyoro fortunately fell into 
the river. But now the savages brought grappling-hooks 
to bear, and the boat in the rushes was linked to one of 
the native canoes. Speke's men, beside themselves with 
fear, did nothing but cry, " Help, Bana ! (Speke), they are 
killing us ! " Not a soul amongst the crews, with the 
leader out in the stream, would respond to Speke's frantic 
shouts of encouragement. When he cried, " Go in, go in, 
and the victory will be ours ! " his fellows answered with 
a miserable, " Mother, mother, help us ! " 

However, the men who had hooked the boat got more 
than they bargained for. The crew, with more pluck 
than their brethren out in the open stream, fired upon 
the enemy. The three shots brought down two of the 
blacks, one of them killed. On this the Wanyoro sheered 
off instantly, and were heard muttering that their foes 
were not cowardly Waganda folk. Thus at one stroke 
the passage up the river was cleared. And after all the 
hostile treatment Speke and his followers had met with, 
not a man of them had been injured. 

Meanwhile Bombay had, hours before, reached N'yam- 

yon jo's place, and had asked to see that powerful officer. 

He had, however, been kept waiting a very long time, on 

the plea that the chief was away from home on business. 

The village folk accused the exploring party of robbing 

123 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the peaceful natives on their way, to which Bombay 
replied that Speke had done all in his power to prevent 
it, and had restored to the owners everything his men had 
taken. Evening came on, and still Bombay was kept 
waiting ; and at length the villagers reminded him that 
he had not been asked to spend the night there, and had 
better take himself off. Bombay answered that he should 
not budge till he had seen N'yamyon jo. To this the 
natives responded with a "Well, you have got your 
warning ; now look out for yourselves." 

Drums now began to beat, and the men of the settle- 
ment rushed to arms. After a while Bombay heard shots, 
and, realizing what was the position of affairs, dashed 
away into the bush, the few Waganda men he had with 
him as escort followed suit. They dared not keep to the 
ordinary path, but crashed through the jungle in mortal 
terror, tearing themselves with the thorns. At last, late 
at night, the messengers, lame and bleeding, reached 
Speke. 

Their report of the conduct of N'yamyon jo and his 

people was not encouraging, and Speke's men were too 

much frightened to proceed without that great man's 

permission, a thing most unlikely to be obtained after 

what had happened. It was useless for the leader of 

the expedition to urge that they should not think of 

giving in ; that Grant would certainly obtain Kamrasi's 

leave to pass through the territory, and in that case it 

would not matter what N'yamyon jo said or did. The 

men replied that N'yamyon jo was a powerful man, and 

really an independent chief; moreover, he did not like 

strangers prying about in his fastnesses. Nothing but 

124 



WITH SPEKE ON THE UPPER NILE 

death awaited the party within his district, for some of 
his people had been killed. 

It was to no purpose that the bold leader of the explor- 
ing band argued and entreated, and though the next 
morning crowds of the Waganda came to hail him as a 
victor, since he had shot Wanyoro men and still remained 
alive, yet Speke was forced to give in. " I turned my 
back on the Nile," he says, " and the following day came 
on to the Luajerri." Thus for the time he had to abandon 
his intended voyage down the stream of the great river, 
whose source he had discovered. 



125 



XI 

A FLORIDA BEAR 

Wakassare river in Florida — English game hunter's camp on its bank — 
t Difficulties of crossing — Rude raft made of pine logs — First voyage 
—Great cane-brake to be cut through — Pony nearly causes disaster 
on the third crossing — Alligators plentiful — Dense fog — A bear 
dashes through the camp — Hue and cry in the fog — Bear found in 
a cane-brake — Rough experiences of the dogs — The doctor tumbles 
headlong in front of the bear — Two ineffectual shots, powder damp 
— Grave peril of the doctor — He throws his axe — Weapon misses — 
Bear off again — Takes refuge in a tree — Doctor's dog almost killed 
— Mike fires a lucky shot — Bear falls. 

That everything in America is large, is a common 

saying; but we do not always realize clearly, how large 

that continent is. Many people, for instance, looking at 

a map of Florida, are disposed to regard it as simply 

a corner of the United States. That there should be 

room enough in Florida for a great river, would come 

upon them as a surprise. For all that, Florida does 

possess considerable rivers, rivers that by comparison 

with some of our own which we are accustomed to look 

upon as important, are very large streams. One of these 

is the Wakassare, whose dark, deep waters flow on, sluggish 

and slow, through the big bordering swamps with their 

fringes of thick forest. 

Mr. Whitehead, an English gentleman, and a big-game 

hunter of the da} r s of half-a-century ago, found himself, 

126 



A FLORIDA BEAR 

with his companions and servants, nearing this formidable 
stream. His camp was pitched for the night not far from 
the bank of the Wakassare. Behind was a dense forest ; 
around him were his horses and dogs ; by the fire sat the 
tired hunters in comfort, after their heavy day's toil. 
Bat there in front of them, seen through the few inter- 
vening trees, flowed the waters of the river, dark and 
forbidding, while across, on the other shore, stretched 
what appeared to be a limitless cane-brake. On the 
morrow these black waters had to be crossed, and the 
problem was already exercising the minds of every 
member of the party. 

The morning came, but scarcely daylight with it. The 
earth was enveloped in a dense fog, a fog so heavily 
charged with moisture, that as it condensed among the 
trees it descended on the camp in a continuous rain, 
wetting everything through and through, causing the 
men to shiver, even in hot Florida. A number of pine 
logs were cut down as a preliminary. These were tied 
together in pairs with the stout and pliant vines that 
grew plentifully enough everywhere. Several of these 
pairs of logs were then bound together by means of ropes, 
tier above tier, till at last something like a raft was 
made. A ruder and more unsafe raft eye never saw, 
and the hunters regarded the thing ruefully. 

However, the servants proceeded to tie the construction 

to a tree on the bank, and Mike, one of the servants of 

the party, with a couple of negroes, launched it. On it 

was placed the supply of powder, which was to form the 

cargo on the first trip. The three men then pushed the 

raft gently away from the shore, the combined weight of 

127 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

men and goods almost causing the thing to go under 
altogether. Carefully the raft was pushed along by 
means of a pole till the deeper water was reached, when 
paddles were used. By marvellous good luck the craft 
at length touched the green of the farther bank, and to 
a casual spectator it might have seemed that the first 
voyage had been safely performed. As a matter of fact 
the difficulties were only just beginning. 

Mike and his fellows found to their dismay that there 
was no landing. The tall canes grew in dense miniature 
forests out of the black, ooze-laden water, blocking all 
progress. Vain attempts were made to push the raft in 
among the thick brake; it was an impossibility. And 
up and down stream, as far as could be seen, this great 
and impassable cane-thicket extended. There was nothing 
for it, therefore, but to cut a way through. This Mike 
and the black fellows proceeded to do, and inch by inch 
a lane for the raft was carved out. After infinite labour 
the end of the cane-brake came, and something like solid 
land was gained. The powder was lifted out and placed 
on the bank out of the reach of the waters. 

There was no tree at hand to which to fasten the other 

end of the guide-rope which Mike had brought over, but 

he made shift with a sturdy cabbage-palm, and then set 

off back for another cargo. On the second trip one of the 

ponies shared the passage with his masters. To have 

made the animal swim across would have been to consign 

the poor brute to almost certain destruction, for the river 

was full of alligators. Even the dogs had to be ferried 

across ; moreover, it was necessary to tie them well on the 

raft, to prevent their springing into the water in mid- 
128 




Eh 2 



A FLORIDA BEAR 

stream. The passengers were not particularly comfortable 
on the passage, for the raft began to show signs of coming 
to pieces. A sudden dissolution of logs on the way would 
have meant a breakfast for some of the hungry alligators 
that could be observed hovering near. 

On the third trip the remaining pony was taken, with 
other things, and the animal came near to bringing 
destruction on both himself and those with him. In the 
middle of the black waters the beast turned restive, 
frightened no doubt by the novelty of his position. His 
kicks and plunges, together with the efforts of the men 
to keep him quiet, soon played havoc with the crazy raft. 
Log began to part from log, and utter dissolution was at 
hand. It was an anxious time both for those who guided 
the raft and those who watched it from the shore. By 
great good fortune the, construction held together in some 
fashion till land was reached. One negro, Scipio, had 
been left unferried across, and to him fell the business 
of hauling back the raft empty, of unfastening the rope 
from the tree, and then of getting himself across, a feat 
that involved no little risk, for the condition of the raft 
had by this time become hopeless. 

The hunting party had observed be ov tracks in the 

cane-brake on their passage, and in one place on the 

damp mud of the bank appeared a recent paw print, all 

this bringing excitement not less to the whining dogs 

than to the eager men. The brake and the bounding 

marsh were, in truth, alive with animals. Ducks were 

there in crowds, while the heron, the turkey, the rail, 

and other birds, were plentiful enough. Tracks of deer, 

bear and racoon were found on all sides. Not far away 
9 129 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

could be heard the howl of a wolf; altogether the region 
was a populous one. All this time, however, the fog did 
not permit of anything being seen at a greater distance 
than a few feet. The grass was heavy with the dew, 
soaking through the foot-gear of the men. A camp fire 
had been made, and the hunters settled down to breakfast. 

All at once a sharp yelp came from a small dog, and 
this was followed by a prolonged howl from a big one. 
" What dat ? " cried Scipio, looking up hastily from the 
food he was preparing. " Nebber you mind," answered a 
brother black ; " you cook." The words were scarcely out 
of the man's mouth when out of the dense fog dashed a 
black bear, almost as big as a bull. In a trice he had 
invaded the camp, passed right through the middle of it, 
and across the very fire. One of the gentlemen of the 
party, a doctor, was bowled over like a ninepin, while, 
worse fate still, poor Scipio was knocked clean on to the 
ashes of the fire on which his cooking-pots stood. 

Here was excitement enough to satisfy the keenest of 
sportsmen. " Bress de Lord ! " ejaculated Scipio, as he 
picked himself up hurriedly from his predicament. " Tally- 
ho, doctor !" shouted one of the gentlemen; "after him, 
Mike ! " The dogs on their part needed no urging, but 
rushed off headlong into the fog after the bear. The 
whole camp made a charge towards the cane-brake. 
Helter-skelter flew the hunters and their servants. One 
man fell precipitately into an ugly slough, from which he 
had much ado to extricate himself. A second, who had 
a similar piece of bad luck, was left behind to pick himself 
up. Others in their haste stumbled over fallen logs, or 

pitched headlong over the low bank. 

130 



A FLORIDA BEAK 

For a time nothing could be seen of Master Bruin ; but 
at length the lifting of the fog discovered him sitting in 
the brake, his back against the bank of the river. He 
was snorting with rage as he rested on his haunches in 
the ooze. His eyes were bloody red, his mouth wide open 
and foaming. The brute was clearly at bay, having been 
brought thereto by the dogs, whose scent had enabled 
them to track him even through the fog. When the 
men first caught sight of them, the dogs were ranged in 
a semicircle round the bear, and some bore marks of his 
claws. 

A more alarming as well as a more ludicrous spectacle 
was presented by the doctor. In his haste that gentleman 
had fallen headlong over the bank of the river, had turned 
a somersault, and made a half-turn; now he was found 
by his companions sitting in the mud, directly in front of 
the bear's nose, and not half-a-dozen paces from the 
brute. In his hand the doctor carried an axe, which he 
had snatched up as the first available weapon that came 
to his hand. It was evident that both man and bear 
were in no little consternation at finding themselves thus 
situated with regard to each other. But if the bear was 
alarmed, not less so was the doctor. 

" Hurrah ! Have at him ! " shouted one of the hunters, 

to which the doctor replied with a cry of " Shoot him ! " 

Mr. Whitehead levelled his gun and drew the trigger 

without an instant's delay ; the situation of his friend 

ensured that. No report came, and the hunter tried 

again. It was of no use ; the powder was damp and the 

situation was becoming serious. 

All these movements had roused the bear, and he began 

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ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

to utter ominous growls. The dogs by this time had 
grown frantic, and danced madly about Bruin, every now 
and then making a dash nearer the brute. But woe to 
the luckless hound that came within reach of his big paw ! 
A sounding and stunning slap sent the dog spinning 
through the air. One of the animals flew to a distance of 
a dozen feet with the force of the blow. 

The doctor now begins a demonstration on his own 
account. Poising his axe in the air he aims at the bear's 
head, and flings it with all his might. As ill luck would 
have it, the brute moved on one side at that instant, and 
the axe flew past him harmlessly ; in a moment it had 
disappeared in the mud and was lost. As for the doctor, 
he had overbalanced himself with his throw, and falling 
flat on his face, had buried his head in the liquid 
slime. 

Bruin lost no time in beating a retreat, and immediately 
there was a mighty hue and cry as dogs and men dashed 
after him. The chase did not last long, though, consider- 
ing the nature of the swamp the difficulties of following 
must have been many and serious. But coming at length 
to a tree, the brute swarmed up and out of reach. There 
he sat on a branch and looked down on his pursuers with 
a calm and even a bland look. He was at bay again, but 
so little fear did he show, that he occupied himself in 
quietly and unconcernedly scratching his side. The 
hunters had now an opportunity of observing the animal 
more closely, and it was seen to be a he-bear and a very 
fine specimen of its kind. 

Mike had brought up his rifle, and cries of " Shoot 

him ! " arose on all sides. But attention was called away 

132 



A FLORIDA BEAR 

to the dog belonging to the doctor, which in his eagerness 
for the fray had come off very badly. The bear had half 
torn the poor beast to pieces with his terrible claws. 

" Shoot him ! " was still the cry. Mike smiled ; he was 
sure of his game and was not disposed to hurry matters. 
He took deliberate aim, while the spectators looked on 
with keenest interest. Would the powder prove damp as 
before ? No ; the report rings out, and Bruin falls heavily 
to the ground. The brute was no longer dangerous ; he 
had been hit full in the eye, and was already dead. 

Mike did not even turn his head to look at his victim, 
but with a satisfied smile reloaded his rifle. 



133 



XII 

UNDER FIRE ON A CAUCASIAN RIVER 

War between Russians and Turks in Trans-Caucasia — Laurence Oliphant, 
an English artist-correspondent with Turkish forces — Many British 
officers under Omar Pasha — Col. Ballard reconnoitres the banks of 
the river Ingour — No ford discoverable — Russian fire — The artist as a 
military engineer — His coolness and adroitness — Battery formed — 
Omar Pasha arrives with Turkish force — Ballard sent on with advance 
troops — Smaller branch of stream crossed — Wooded island traversed 
— A bit of open — A formidable Russian battery — Hot fight between 
Ballard's troops and the battery — A narrow escape — Osman Pasha 
crosses the river lower down — Russian guard overcome — Simmons 
makes good his passage higher up — Enemy taken in the reverse — 
Battery captured — Hidaiot's ruse — Victory of the Turks. 

The famous Crimean war of 1854-5 was followed by 

operations between the Russian and Turkish armies in 

Armenia and the Caucasus district. Many British officers 

were attached to the Turkish forces, as is well known, and 

very excellent service was rendered by not a few of them 

under the Turkish Commander-in-Chief, Omar Pasha. 

One of the more conspicuous of these British officers, 

Colonel Ballard, had attached to his forces Mr. Laurence 

Oliphant, an English barrister, who was present during 

the campaign as artist and war-correspondent. This 

gentleman saw not a little of many of the stirring scenes 

that were witnessed, especially during that part of the 

campaign which had its base in the province of Mingrelia. 

134 



ON A CAUCASIAN RIVER 

Mr. Oliphant having bought his own horses, was by 
orders from Omar Pasha himself provided with a tent and 
rations, and by invitation from Colonel Ballard, joined the 
body of Rifles under that gallant officer. Hardly had 
Oliphant reached the quarters of Colonel Ballard when 
orders were received to march at once to the banks of the 
Ingour, one of the many rivers that take their rise in the 
stupendous Caucasus range and make their way down into 
the Black Sea. The detachment that left the main sta- 
tion of the Turkish army was under the command of Abdi 
Pasha, and consisted of a couple of battalions of Rifles and 
about six thousand infantry and artillery. The march 
ceased a mile or two from the bank of the Ingour, and 
camp was pitched on a plain, which was separated from the 
river by a belt of wood. 

The Rifles were the finest troops in the Turkish service, 
and these, as has been said, were under the immediate 
orders of Colonel Ballard. He invited Oliphant to go 
with him to the banks of the river, and after winding 
through the thick woods the little reconnoitring party 
managed to reach the bank unseen by the Russians, who 
were strongly posted on the other side of the stream. The 
Russian stockades could be well seen, and even the heads 
of the soldiers within, while the gleam of a bayonet now 
and then showed that the enemy were on the alert. 

Next morning Oliphant again visited the river, with the 

view of making some sketches. He had with him some 

half-dozen riflemen. They found that the river was 

divided into two branches by a long narrow island. This 

island was bare of trees, but the other bank of the river 

was densely wooded, a circumstance the Russians had not 

135 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

failed to take advantage of. For more than a mile they 
had cut down trees plentifully, and had cleverly interlaced 
them with the growing trees, the whole forming a stockade 
or fence of the most difficult character. In one place was 
an earthwork, defended by about forty Russians. 

Russians and Turks stood staring at each other for a 
little while, from opposite sides of the river, but presently 
Colonel Ballard arrived with a detachment of men, and 
some firing began. Before long a Russian bullet pierced 
the leg of a young prince. This boy, with a younger 
brother, had been sent to see some active service, and he 
was the first i to be wounded. However, the case proved 
not to be a fatal one. The Turkish rifles soon compelled 
the enemy to keep themselves hidden as much as possible, 
and the Turks themselves were not less willing to lie in 
ambush whenever they could. But this rifle practice 
soon grew tiring, and Ballard drew off his men. Later it 
was found that the Russians magnified this into a defeat 
of their foes ? 

Next day the artist-correspondent went down again to 
the river, and found the Russians more on the alert than 
ever. Whenever a bit of red showed itself on the Turkish 
side of the Ingour, a score or two of bullets was speedily 
showered into the place. Sketching under these condi- 
tions became a little too exciting, and Oliphant and those 
with him had to crawl about on all fours from bush to 
bush. The risky part was to cross a bit of open, from one 
clump of bush to another. He ordered his men not to fire, 
as a shot would show at once their position, and then the 
consequent hail of bullets would put a decided stop to the 

progress of the drawing. But the fellows found it hard to 

136 



ON A CAUCASIAN RIVER 

obey such an order, and every now and then one of them 
would fire at some particularly tempting mark. An imme- 
diate reply would then send the sketch er and his party 
scuttling away like rabbits. One of the Turkish riflemen 
hit a Russian soldier at a distance of at least two hundred 
yards. And Oliphant had not only his men to keep in 
order. " Once my horse," he writes, " who was concealed 
in some bushes in the rear, smelt a friend and neighed' 
when he was immediately astonished by half-a-dozen 
balls whizzing past his nose. In fact, the Russians kept 
such an uncommonly good look-out, that it was sketching 
under difficulties." 

But now the artist had to play what was an entirely 
new part for him. By good luck he found a place where 
the river was fordable ; it was just in front of the Russian 
stockade. The Commander-in-Chief, Omar Pasha, came 
next day, and at once ordered the erection of two batteries 
to command the passage. The Turkish army numbered 
very few engineers, so Colonel Simmons, another of the 
Englishmen, gave Oliphant a lesson or two in fortification, 
and then sent him to Skender Pasha, to get the necessary 
materials for the construction of one battery, while he 
himself saw to the erection of the other. In the dark, 
Skender took the barrister-artist to be an officer, and gave 
him not only the men and materials necessary for the con- 
struction of the fort, but also put under his command a 
regiment of infantry and a couple of field-pieces ! 

Here was a pretty pass for a man who was not a soldier ! 

However, with characteristic British coolness he marched 

his numerous body of men away, and began the making of 

the fort. Not a single word of command in Turkish did 

137 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the intrepid artist know. Moreover, everything had to be 
done in the pitchy darkness of the night, and with the 
least possible amount of noise. The work was advancing 
well, when suddenly there was a whisper that the Russians 
were coming down the river, and in force, a discomposing 
announcement certainly. To give a decidedly strong 
appearance of truth to the report, there, on the opposite 
bank, could be made out three black lines drawn up. The 
scare was becoming a serious matter. Then an opera- 
glass was brought to bear, and lo ! the mystery was 
cleared up. The three Russian lines proved to be nothing 
more or less than three rows of logs, which different floods 
had at some time left stranded on the brink of the river. 

Mr. Oliphant's battery was finished in good time, and 
then he went away to see how the other was progressing. 
Here he found a striking scene. The position was much 
nearer to the water, and consequently to the Russians ; 
thus more caution was needed. But there was so much 
chopping involved that it was not possible to keep the 
operations noiseless. Every man was straining to the 
utmost to get the work finished in the time, that is to 
say, before the return of morning light should show the 
enemy what was going on. On every side were drawn 
faces and feverish energy. " The hurried orders were 
given, and impatient demands for more gabions made, in 
whispers. The most profound darkness reigned over all : 
these men worked like ants, without the glimmer of a 
torch to light, or even the spark of a pipe to cheer them. 
Every now and then the challenge of a Russian sentry 
came across the water to remind us of the necessity of 

renewed exertion, and the long lines of soldiers bearing 

138 



ON A CAUCASIAN RIVER 

gabions seemed never ending as they forced their way 
along the narrow path." 

The correspondent was presently seated on a drum, by 
a big fire, chatting to Skender Pasha. That veteran 
soldier was immensely amused when he learnt the real 
profession of the man to whom he had but lately entrusted 
so responsible a command. Skender related some of his 
military experiences, and few greater fire-eaters existed in 
his day and generation. A number of reports lower down 
the river showed that the enemy had begun the fray ; 
nevertheless Oliphant managed to snatch a little sleep. 

Next day the whole of the Turkish forces had arrived 
in the neighbourhood, and Omar Pasha began to prepare 
for a decisive battle, which was now impending, and at 
that place. The artist had full opportunity, during a day 
of inactivity that followed, to study the habits of the Turks. 
All day long, officers came to pay visits of ceremony to the 
commander, that being considered the proper thing to do. 
The general must have found the thing a terrible bore 
after a while. Just before dinner, at roll-call, a picturesque 
scene was witnessed. Regiment after regiment shouted 
three cheers of blessing on the Sultan — an impressive 
moment. 

Next morning the Turkish soldiers were early in readi- 
ness, and the various generals received their final orders. 
One division was to march along the bank of the Ingour, 
with the view of turning the Russian position lower down 
the river, where a ford was available for crossing. Oliphant 
found himself with his friend Colonel Ballard and an 
advance guard proceeding down-stream. The first part 

of the river was crossed easily enough, and the party 

139 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

proceeded along the island, which was everywhere covered 
with a dense growth of bush and scrub. So far nothing had 
been seen of the enemy, and indeed Colonel Ballard's men 
could scarcely have been observed in their copse. 

Suddenly the woods ceased and the Rifles found them- 
selves in the open, still on the island, of course. Then, 
without the least warning, a shower of shot came pouring 
in upon their ranks. It was now seen that on the other 
side of the river — across the main branch, that is — stood 
a battery. At the same time, firing came from beyond 
the open clearing, on the island itself. The woods began 
again almost at once, in truth, and it was from this con- 
tinuation of the copse that one portion of the attack came. 
There was nothing for it but to dash across the open as 
quickly as possible and dislodge the Russians from the 
wood. It was a hazardous thing to do, to all appearance, 
but as soon as Ballard's troops began their rush across the 
bit of clearing the enemy's firing ceased, and the wood was 
seized without difficulty. 

Now came to the front a more serious matter. It 

was high time to cross the main stream, if the Russians 

were to be met to any purpose, and accordingly search was 

made for a ford. This search was carried on under a very 

heavy fire of grape and musketry from the other side of 

the wide stream, and at length it had to be given up, no 

fordable place being discovered. There was nothing for it, 

therefore, but to return the Russian fire with what vigour 

might be possible. Ballard's position was one of the 

greatest danger. The battery beyond the river was doing 

deadly mischief amongst the Turkish Rifles, while the 

Russians themselves kept within their fort, showing them- 

140 



ON A CAUCASIAN RIVER 

selves not at all. For three long hours this kind of thing 

went on. Ballard placed his men as near the bank of the 

river as he could, at the same time instructing them to 

take advantage of every scrap of cover — a tree, a fallen 

stump, or a stray log. What execution his own fire was 

doing in the Russian fort over the water the colonel had 

no means of knowing at the time, but it was learnt later 

on that his bullets had done most serious damage to the 

enemy, and that, as a matter of fact, his plucky resistance 

had done much to gain the day. However, Ballard's own 

losses were very heavy, already more than a hundred 

casualties having occurred. 

Meanwhile Colonel Simmons was desirous of finding a 

way by which the rest of the army might reach the spot 

without having to expose themselves in the open to the 

terrific Russian fire, and the artist-correspondent went 

with him to assist in the search. A way out of the 

difficulty was hit upon presently, namely, to make use of 

the bed of the other or minor branch of the Ingour, which 

they had already crossed. Though the island was not 

more than fifty yards wide, yet by walking near the 

water's edge the men passed the spot in comparative 

safety, hidden for the most part by the slightly raised bank 

of the smaller stream. Another English officer, Colonel 

Caddell, had a narrow escape. He was talking to a Pasha 

when a ball flew between the two men, passing clean 

through the colonel's horse, killing the interpreter, then 

plunging into a regiment behind, and finally rolling down 

the bank of the river. The Pasha disappeared and was 

not seen on the field again that day. 

Ballard's vigorous fire was still being kept up. His 

141 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

energy was marvellous. "Whenever he saw a man 
unwilling to take up his position near the edge of the 
river, he pricked him, not with his sword's point, but with 
that sharper weapon which a Turk fears more — quiet 
irony. ' Make a gabion of me, my good fellow ; put your 
gun on my shoulder, and then you're sure not to be hit,' 
was a home-thrust which irresistibly impelled the object of 
it forward." But the number of fallen men all around 
told of the execution being done by the Russian muskets, 
and it was found necessary to organize a temporary- 
hospital in a hut or two that stood in the island woods. 
And at length ammunition began to run short, and 
another regiment was sent to the support of the Rifles. 

Evening was drawing near, and as yet nothing decisive 
had been done ; apparently the day was to end doubtfully 
and without effective result. But now Osman Pasha, who 
commanded a division, was seen marching his men past in 
the rear, and, thinking he might be going in search of a 
ford lower down the river, the artist went after him, in 
his usual fashion. At the end of a mile and a half of 
tramp, they found a smaller island in the main stream, and 
to this the Turkish troops crossed. Yet another island 
lay alongside, and to this also the men made their way. 
So far things had been easy ; now there lay between them 
and the opposite bank a breadth of river, less indeed in 
width than the three hundred feet of the ordinary main 
stream of the Ingour, but still swift and deep. Instantly 
the Turkish troops dashed across this, to be met, as they 
neared the farther shore, by a galling Russian fire. Soon 
a hundred and fifty men had fallen by the brink of the 

fatal river. But Osman Pasha pressed on, not withstand - 

142 



ON A CAUCASIAN RIVER 

ing the reception, and his pluck and dash had their reward 
in the flight of the enemy, who, seeing the determination 
of their foes, turned and ran, and were lost in the woods. 

Osman had under him some five thousand men, and it 
was calculated that the number of Russian troops opposed 
to him at the crossing-place was about fifteen hundred. 
Oliphant had passed over the river with the Pasha's 
division, and the men were taking possession of the new 
ground, when suddenly a great shout arose on the air. 
What could it mean? Nothing less than the taking of 
the deadly Russian battery up the river could have given 
rise to so much rejoicing. Yet that surely was an impossi- 
bility ! However, news began to arrive before long that 
such was the case. The river had been crossed, and 
the battery captured. The day had been gained by Omar 
Pasha's forces — the battle of the Ingour had been fought 
and won — but how, was a mystery. It was not till next 
day that the artist-correspondent learnt the truth con- 
cerning this final stroke. 

About the same time as Osman Pasha had been en- 
gaged in making good his passage lower down the Ingour, 
Colonel Simmons had suggested the advisability of trying 
for a ford higher up the river, so that the enemy might be 
taken in the reverse, as it were. The Commander-in- 
Chief approved of the suggestion, and Simmons with a 
detachment set off. By good fortune he found at last a 
place where the bed of the river was studded with a 
number of small islands, and the passage of the stream was 
a fairly easy matter, and the more so, as it was unhampered 
by any attentions from the Russians. The enemy, in 
truth, not expecting any attack from such a quarter, had 

143 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

left that side altogether undefended, and Simmons was 
able to advance unobserved to within quite a short 
distance of the deadly battery, opposite which the gallant 
Ballard and his Rifles still made good play. When the 
Turkish troops were at last perceived, they were met by 
a terrific fire, but in spite of the fact that he was attacked 
by two columns at once, one in front, and one on his flank, 
Colonel Simmons dashed on, right through the first 
column, and into the very battery itself. 

Hot work followed, but luckily the struggle was brief. 
It was terminated in a curious fashion. Amongst the 
officers in the Turkish service was a Pole of the name of 
Hidaiot, who had formerly served under the Czar. This 
man was hardly distinguishable from a Russian officer. 
Taking advantage of this fact, and of his knowledge of 
Russian, Hidaiot shouted at the top of his voice, heard 
above all the noise of battle, " My children, fly ; my 
children, you are surrounded — whole regiments of these 
infidels are coming through the wood ! " In a moment 
every living Russian fled, and the battery was left in the 
hands of the triumphant Simmons and his men. For his 
signal service on this occasion Hidaiot was made a major, 
and later received the order of the Mejidieh. 

Thus terminated a day of heavy fighting, carried on 
always close to the water's edge, on the banks and in the 
stream of the formidable Ingour. 



144 



XIII 

AN ESCAPADE ON THE RED RIVER 

M. Louis Riel, the President of the "Red River Republic" — Gen. 
Wolseley sent to punish him — Major Butler goes on ahead as scout — 
Butler takes steamer at Pembina for Fort Garry — During passage 
down Red River, mounted horsemen seen on banks — It was clear that 
information was being taken in advance to insurgents at Fort Garry — 
Butler and a Canadian gentleman land, in darkness, short of Fort 
Garry — Butler makes tracks across country towards Lower Fort Garry, 
where was an English force — Meanwhile a hue and cry at the fort — 
Riel sends men in pursuit of Butler— "Dead or alive ! " — "Whisky 
Tom's " and its effects — Friendly clergyman — Lower Fort Garry 
reached — Palaver with friendly Ojibbeways — By help of these 
Indians, Butler begins ascent of Winnipeg River to meet Wolseley — A 
cataract and its difficulties — A gallant fight with the falls — The 
cataract conquered at last, an extraordinary victory. 

Few of the younger generation of British folk have 
heard much of the Red River rebellion of six or seven 
and thirty years ago. Yet M. Louis Riel, a Canadian 
half-breed, the head of this outbreak, caused no little 
talk in his day. He was often called the Napoleon of 
Canada, a description not altogether unwarranted by the 
man's appearance and character. He had seized upon 
the Upper Fort Garry, on the Red River, near the meeting- 
place of the waters of that river with those of the Assine- 
boine ; he had defied Her Majesty's rule and government ; 
he had murdered an unfortunate Canadian named Scott. It 
was time for the home authorities to interfere, and General 

Wolseley was ordered to put down the insurrection. 
10 145 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

Major Butler, an intrepid officer, was called upon to 
render assistance, chiefly in the way of gaining informa- 
tion as to the condition of things in Kiel's district, 
and as to the rebel movements. There was a considerable 
dash of risk in the duties Major Butler had undertaken, 
a thing to rejoice the heart of a gallant soldier and a 
born traveller, however. 

Butler approached the disturbed district from the 
United States. We may, in imagination, join him on 
board the steamer International, as it leaves the frontier 
town of Pembina, on the border line between the States 
and British territory. 

The boat steamed away from Pembina, and soon was 
within the limits of the Red River Settlement, and thus 
in the domain claimed by M. Louis Riel, the arch-plotter. 
The captain of the steamer congratulated his military 
passenger on having got across the border so easily, the 
frontier line being carefully and constantly watched. 
Nothing at first was seen of the much-talked-about guard 
the papers were full of, the guard that was said to stretch 
for one hundred and fifty miles, from the Red River at 
Pembina to the Lake of the Woods. 

The gallant major was just beginning to think the 

whole Red River rebellion a myth, when there appeared 

on the prairie a couple of horsemen, whose horses' heads 

were turned towards Fort Garry. From the lofty deck 

of the International he caught glimpses of the riders 

during the day. Their pace was a rapid one, and it was 

evident they meant to reach the fort at least as soon as 

the steamer. Taking advantage of the bends in the 

river, cutting across country whenever it was possible, 

146 



ESCAPADE ON THE RED RIVER 

the horsemen managed to keep up with the boat by dint 
of hard riding. Major Butler meanwhile learnt from one 
of the crew of the steamer that word had been sent from 
Pembina to Fort Garry as to the expected arrival of the 
officer at the latter place. There was clearly trouble ahead. 

Darkness set in at length, and the British scout turned 
over in his mind the difficulties of his situation and the 
way out of them. The prospect was anything but en- 
couraging; he was coming every moment nearer the 
clutches of the rebel leader and his supporters ; anything 
might happen. The Upper Fort Garry, Bid's head-quarters, 
was now within an hour's steaming. There was one thing 
Butler did not mean to do ; he would not, if human skill 
could avoid it, fall into the hands of the so-called Presi- 
dent of the Red River Republic. His object was to give 
that worthy the slip and to make his way to the Lower 
Fort Garry, a score of miles farther on, and near Lake 
Winnipeg. But how to avoid being taken under Riel's 
own eyes at the Upper Fort ! 

Major Butler spent the interval in studying the map. 
No other place than the Lower Fort, which was in 
British hands, offered safety; how to reach that place 
of safety was the problem. His great want, once he 
had managed to land without observation, was a horse ; 
without that his course by land to the British fort would 
be slow ; more, it would be impossible. Luckily there was 
on board a gentleman of the district, who was evidently 
no great friend to the President, Riel having, in fact, con- 
fiscated much of this gentleman's goods. Entering into 
the officer's plans, this man offered to go ashore with him, 
and, if at all possible, provide him with a horse. 

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ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

Butler's plan was this. He would get the captain to 
stop the boat at the junction of the Assineboine with the 
Red River, quite near to Fort Garry, but clear of observa- 
tion. This was in reality the suggestion of his Canadian 
friend on the ship, his own idea having been to step off 
at the usual landing-place and rush away, trusting to his 
revolver and a fourteen-shot repeating rifle he had. As 
for his baggage, he must be content to leave it to fall 
into the hands of the rebels. His weapons, his ammunition 
and his dog he would not abandon. 

It was eleven o'clock and the night very dark, the moon 
not yet risen. Fort Garry was ahead and close at hand. 
From the deck the lights and even moving figures could 
be seen. Butler, his carbine concealed under his great- 
coat, stood ready in the bows, his friend the Canadian 
gentleman by his side. The confluence of the two rivers 
was reached, and the vessel, turning into the Assineboine, 
suddenly shut off her steam. Then it brushed against 
the shore on the opposite side of the river to the fort. 
The Canadian in an instant leapt ashore, and the major, 
dragging the dog after him, sprang also, only just in 
time, for the vessel was beginning to sheer off again. 
It was a risky thing, but nevertheless, aided by the dark- 
ness, the two men made their way unseen to the top of 
the bank, and then struck across to the village of Winni- 
peg, only a few hundred yards away. 

The first step had been gained ; the rest must come as 
it would. Here the Canadian left the officer, giving him 
directions as to his road. He promised to send a man 
with a horse to the first bridge on the road to the Lower 

Fort. The next moment Butler found himself alone, the 

148 



ESCAPADE ON THE RED RIVER 

village at hand, the lights of fort and steamer showing at 
no great distance. No wonder he stood in doubt for a 
moment. But it was for only a moment, and he began 
to walk rapidly along the road that had been indicated 
to him. 

He was soon at the first wooden bridge, the place where 
he was to await the horse that had been promised. Stand- 
ing on the bridge was a man. Whether this were a guard 
or sentinel, or only a private citizen, it would clearly be 
folly to linger about the place ; such a thing would at 
once excite suspicion. 

At this moment the dog got loose from the lead, and 
his master, unwilling to lose the animal, stopped at the 
farther end of the bridge to whistle him back. He never 
saw the dog again, however. But now as to the horse. 
Nothing could be seen of it, and Butler reflected that if 
the animal should appear, the place was ill-chosen, being, 
as it was, in possession of a sentinel. So he determined 
to proceed without the horse, and hurried off into the 
misty darkness of the prairie. 

After an hour of heavy tramping along the rough track 
he saw the last-quarter moon rise, and the better light 
enabled him to see the bearings of his course and some- 
thing of the surrounding country. For two or three 
hours he plodded steadily but rapidly on. He was all 
the while calculating his chances of getting clear away. 
He knew that he would be able to hear any pursuers 
while they were yet at a distance, and there were en- 
closures where he might conceal himself. Then, given 
that the number of his assailants was not overwhelming, 

the fourteen-shooter would probably cause a fright amongst 

149 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

them and a stampede back to the fort. Parched with 
thirst the runaway found with delight a little creek, and 
went down into the hollow for water. 

Meanwhile there had been scenes in the fort. News 
that an officer in Her Majesty's service was on board the 
International had caused much excitement amongst the 
leading rebels, and a number of fellows, " not afraid to 
fight," as the President expressed it, were in readiness to 
board the vessel the moment it touched at Fort Garry. 
This they did, searching every corner and cranny of the 
ship, eVen breaking open doors and fastenings in their 
scrutiny. In the midst of it all the information leaked 
out that a couple of men had sprung ashore only a few 
minutes before. Kiel was wild with rage, and stamped 
and cursed like a maniac. Nearly everybody on board 
was made prisoner, and in a very short space of time the 
Canadian gentleman had been fetched from his house, and 
threatened with the hangman's rope. He was questioned 
as to the whereabouts of his companion in the escapade, 
and replied that beyond the fact that the officer was in 
the Queen's service and had gone to the Lower Fort, he 
knew nothing. 

" After him ! " the President had yelled. " Bring him 
back, dead or alive ! " 

Half-a-dozen fellows, chiefly half-breeds and filibusters, 

started after the runaway, discussing what they had heard 

concerning him. For extraordinary rumours were afloat 

amongst them, it appeared. The officer was declared to 

be a man of gigantic size, and as for the dog with him, 

its proportions were awful ! The pursuing party made 

good headway for the first eight miles beyond the village 

150 



ESCAPADE ON THE RED RIVER 

of Winnipeg, as far as a place known as " Whisky Tom's," 
a suggestive title, as the major says. It was never made 
clear whether the rebel pursuers ever got beyond the 
seductions of the whisky store ; most likely not, for they 
did not overtake the fugitive, as they should have done 
had they kept vigorously on the track. 

The major, now but four miles, by his reckoning, from 
the British quarters at Lower Fort Garry, came to a 
village, and at once proceeded to knock up the worthy 
parson at the manse. The reverend gentleman was 
alarmed at his visitor's appearance, as well he might 
be, for Butler looked every inch the bandit. However, a 
little explanation cleared up matters, and the major was 
soon enjoying a meal in the parsonage, and explaining to 
his delighted host the situation of affairs. The clergy- 
man, breakfast over, soon had out his buggy, and trotted 
his guest rapidly over the remaining four miles to the 
Lower Fort. The sun had just risen. 

It was now time the runaway had a rest, and he lay 
down to sleep in the fort. While the major slept, the 
officer in charge of the fort began to hear tidings of the 
pursuit by Kiel's men. One caller after another dropped 
in with information, and there appeared to be no doubt 
that the President was bent on capturing the Englishman. 

" The French are after you ! " the officer in charge at 
length whispered in Butler's ears. The weary major had 
been asleep a couple of hours or so. " The French are 
after you ! " was the summons repeated. 

" The French ! " The half-awake man sat up and 

looked about him as though he imagined himself to be 

in France, and it was some moments before he realized 

151 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

that he was in the Far-away Red River Settlement, and 
in a position of considerable danger. 

Notwithstanding all dangers, distant or imminent, 
however, Major Butler coolly sat down to enjoy a mutton 
chop and a cup of tea before he started to run again. 
His friend of the fort proposed to drive his guest to the 
Indian settlement, where the Ojibbeways, faithful subjects 
of Her Majesty, would give a smart reply to any inquirers 
of the Gallic stock, and Pahaouza-Uu-ka, " the Great 
Scalp-taker," would have much work cut out for him. 
These redskins had a settlement along the Red River, 
a few miles before it joins its floods to the waters of 
Lake Winnipeg. As good as his word, the Lower Fort 
officer presently drove the runaway to the Mission 
Station, some eight miles lower down the river. His 
reception by the Indians was picturesque and striking, 
to say the least of it. 

There came along the road a couple of hundred warriors 

in all the glory of their war-paint. At their head 

marched various of the Ojibbeway chiefs, Big Apron, 

Little Long Ears, and the Man who flies round the 

Feathers. The whole body wheeled into the court before 

the Mission House, the chiefs and elders coming to the 

front and sitting down in a circle, while their trusty 

followers stood around. In front of all stood the first of 

the chiefs, with an interpreter and a pipe-bearer. A 

salute from their old-fashioned flint-lock weapons greeted 

the major, who, coming out and standing on the step, 

received the further welcome of a volley of loud "Ho, 

ho's " from the two hundred braves. 

The chief began his speech. He and his brethren, he 

152 



ESCAPADE ON THE RED RIVER 

said, were the most faithful children of the Great Mother, 
and they were ready to fight against the bad men who 
had risen against her, and who were fattening on the 
goods they had stolen, while the Great Mother's children 
were very poor, almost starving. Now they welcomed 
one who, they had been told, came from the great chief 
who was over the Great Mother's warriors. But the 
faithful children were sorely in doubt ; long they had 
watched for the arrival of the Great Mother's warriors, 
but always in vain. They had begun to fear that the 
reports they had heard were not true, and that the great 
warrior chief with his men would never come to the help 
of the poor starving children and bring not only help but 
plenty. 

Butler's reply was short, but in the highest degree 
satisfying to the Ojibbeways. It was true what they had 
heard, he said. The big chief was indeed coming, and 
with many braves in his army. The Great Mother's arm 
was long, able to stretch over rivers, and forests, conti- 
nents, and seas. The great chief would reward the faithful 
children for their good behaviour. Soon the big chief 
himself would be here. He himself, the speaker, was 
even now on his way to meet the chief, and he would tell 
him how true the redskins had been. When the chief 
arrived, all would be well, and there would be plenty 
in the land. For the present they should have flour, 
pemmican, tea, and tobacco. 

A loud chorus of " Ho's ! " showed how much the 
speech was to the liking of the Indians, and after shak- 
ing hands with the chiefs, Major Butler sent the warriors 

on to the Lower Fort with an order for a big feed and a 

153 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

long pipe. Then, after another salute from the guns, the 
Ojibbeways filed off. 

A message had arrived from General Wolseley himself, 
and the major determined to go by way of the Winnipeg 
river to the head-quarters of the expedition, away back 
somewhere on the shores of Lake Superior. The passage 
up this marvellous river was likely to be hard, and even 
dangerous, so many are the rapids and cataracts on the 
three hundred and sixty miles of its course. However, 
with the help of the faithful Ojibbeways, he had no 
hesitation in making the attempt. By a curious turn 
of events, which need not be gone into here, Butler was 
enabled to visit the Upper Fort Garry, the scene of his 
recent escapade, and have an interview with the rebel 
leader, Riel. The President declared that he was in no 
way hostile to the Queen ; he was merely defending his 
brethren against injustice, he said. He was surprised 
to hear of Butler's proposals to ascend the Winnipeg. 

It was not without forebodings on the part of some of 
the Indian fortune-tellers that the major started off on 
his long journey up the river, but he had a magnificent 
send-off from the assembled tribe. His exciting experi- 
ences on the passage were many. But one of them need 
be recounted. 

There is a great noise on ahead, and a turn round 
a bend reveals a wild cataract, or rather a stretch of 
tumbling, impetuous rapids, framed in by toAvering rocks, 
and overshadowed by dark trees. A splendid spectacle as 
a spectacle, but one to fill with dismay the breast of any 
but the boldest traveller who has to surmount so formid- 
able an obstacle. The enormous mass of water, maddened 

154 



ESCAPADE ON THE RED RIVER 

by its fall, rushes headlong amongst the outjutting rocks 
that stud the bed of the river. 

The Indians are equal to the occasion. Quickly they 
steer their frail canoe into the quieter belt of water near 
the bank, a bit of calm produced by the formation of a 
back-current between the main central rush of the stream 
and the shore. It is ticklish work, for there within a foot 
or two dashes the resistless down-current. The calmer 
back-water is followed till the boat is at the very foot of 
the falls, and all the help has been got from it that is 
possible. But what is now to be done ! 

One of the men, the wielder of the bow paddle, at this 
moment gives a great shout. Instantly every paddle is 
struck deep into the rushing flood, and the craft is 
quivering in the very midst of the boiling foam. The 
steersman with the most astonishing skill keeps her head 
ever straight for the falls, and the men work like giants. 
It is a wild and exciting spectacle. All around is the 
mighty surging rush of waters, dashing against the boat 
and leaping high above it ; the men are straining every 
nerve; a single false stroke, or the slightest error of 
judgment, and the imagination needs no spur to enable 
it to picture the result ! It is a matter of life and death. 

But surely no human hands can prevail, in the long 

run, against the opposing dash of these falling floods ! 

It is true. In spite of all efforts the bark is being slowly 

forced back. But all the time it is being also forced 

across, towards the rocky islet that hangs on the very 

edge of the falls, and spreads out for a short space below 

among the boiling waters. The. next instant the boat is 

under the lee of the lower portion of the island, and safe ! 

155 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

Joyfully the men spring ashore, rending the air with 
their shouts of victory, a victory gained against the most 
formidable of enemies. The redskins laugh aloud in 
their delight. 

To carry the cargo up to the higher level of the islet, 
feet above, is the work of ten minutes or so. Then the 
shell of a bark is lifted carefully from the water, for the 
slightest tap against jagged rock would do irreparable 
damage to so frail a thing, and is borne to the upper 
edge, where, poised for a while on the ground, it looks 
upon the reach of river above the cataract. On either 
side the flood is curving for its leap, here in the midst is 
comparatively smooth water, into which the canoe may 
be launched. After an interval for rest the men restore 
their craft to its element, the cargo is put on board once 
more, the men re-embark, and with a shout and a mighty 
pull the boat is shot off from the bank of the islet. The 
cataract is conquered ! 

Note. — From Butler's Gh'eat Lone Land, by permission from Messrs. 
Sampson Low, and Co. 



156 



XIV 

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET ON THE OXUS 

The far-faniecUOxus — American war-correspondent, Captain Mac Gahan, 
toils across the terrible desert of Kyzil-Kum — Desires to join column 
of Russian General Kaufmann — Five divisions of Russian army 
bearing down on Khiva — Mac Gahan reaches Oxus valley, tired, 
dispirited, and dreading dangers — No sign of General Kaufmann — A 
night amongst the sand dunes — Fascinated by sight of the mighty 
and mysterious Oxus — Marks of cannon — Whose ? — A score of 
Khivans seen on in front — A great storm— Constant alarms by sight 
of foes in the distance — "Nerves unstrung" — Sound of guns — A 
battle observed from hill-top — Approach of troop of horse — Mac Gahan 
and men hide in sand — New-comers prove to be friendly Kirghiz — 
Push joyfully on — Russians bombard fort across the river — Battle of 
Sheik- Arik — Khivans defeated — Mac Gahan complimented by Russian 
General Golovatchoff — "A molodydz." 

" Forward we urge our jaded horses ; to-day we must 
reach the river, for we have neither water nor provisions. 
Lower sinks the sun down the western sky, until it hangs 
on the horizon round and red, and projects long shadows 
of ourselves over the desert : then drops out of sight. 
Suddenly flash up on the western sky broad flame-like 
streaks of red, purple and golden light, beneath which, 
far away on the edge of the horizon, we at last catch the 
glimmer of water. The Oxus at last ! " 

Thus writes the bold American war-correspondent, 
Captain Mac Gahan, after a long, toilsome, and most 
dangerous journey of a month across the desert of Kyzil- 
Kum, which lies to the east of the great Asiatic inland 

157 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

sea Aral, and between the ancient twin streams, the 
Jaxartes and the Oxus. 

It was in the year 1873, and Mac Gahan was on his 
way to join the Russian column under General Kaufmann, 
to accompany it on the expedition against the rebellious 
town of Khiva and its Khan. No fewer than five Russian 
divisions were moving on that far-off city, from different 
points of the compass. That under Kaufmann was known 
to have left Tashkend, but since that time nothing had 
been heard of it. Mac Gahan, in order to intercept, if 
possible, the general's line of march, had formed the bold, 
nay, the extraordinary resolution of attempting to cross 
the wild desert, from the north. With three or four 
servants he had accomplished the impossible, and now, 
worn out with fatigue, hungry and thirsty, dirty, tattered 
and drooping, he saw himself in the valley of the ancient 
and mysterious Oxus, a river that has been famous ever 
since history has been written. 

More troubles, however, lay in front of him. By 

marvellous good fortune he had escaped all the hostile 

Turcomans on his rash journey across the desert, a piece 

of good fortune that seemed incredible to all who heard 

the story later on. But now he was coming into the 

neighbourhood of Khiva itself. At any moment he might 

meet with a roving band of the enemy, or a handful of 

scouts. If that should happen, it needed no prophet to 

tell what would be the fate of the daring American and 

his companions. If only he could fall in with the Russian 

force he was seeking, all would be well. But where was 

General Kaufmann ? Had he passed the spot and gone 

on towards Khiva ? Or would Mac Gahan fall in with 

158 



RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 

some hostile force sent out from Khiva to meet the 
advancing Russians ? It was a vain thing to ask such 
questions. 

Cautiously the little band approached the river, whose 
bank they did not reach till dark. They hid themselves 
and their beasts as well as they could among the sand 
dunes, and waited for morning. What would that morn- 
ing bring? Would it show the proximity of the white 
Russian uniform, or the tall black caps of the foe ? The 
camping party dared not light a fire, so they lay down in 
the sand by the river to pass the night as best they might. 

At daylight they are afoot again, and to their surprise 
find that the water hard by is not the Oxus at all, but a 
swamp. Near is a little hill, and that the men ascend to 
peer about the country. Not a soldier of any sort is 
visible, but there down below is the river in reality. The 
war-correspondent was so fascinated with the sight of that 
famous stream that for the moment he forgot Russian and 
Khivan alike. " It was almost with an effort," he writes, 
" that I could bring myself to believe that I was really 
looking on that river, which stretches its mighty course 
from the mountains of India to the Aral sea ; and which 
has been the scene of so many historic events from almost 
the earliest ages of man. It seemed still more strange 
when I thought how few of my race had seen this river ; 
how few that had reached it had lived ; and how, if I had 
been here two days ago, my life would not have been worth 
a pin's fee." 

His field-glass gave him a view of the country for 

twenty miles up and down the Oxus, but in all that 

stretch there was no sign of camp or soldiery. Terror 

159 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

began to seize on the man, and he rushed down to the 
river. There he found the cold ashes of a great number 
of camp fires. But whose camp fires ? 

The marks of cannon tracks now observed at the foot of 
the pigmy hills and the dead fires showed that Kaufmann 
had passed the spot. But whether he had crossed the 
river there or had kept on along its bank there was 
nothing to show. Mac Gahan decided to keep on for the 
present without attempting the passage of the stream. 
There was a little band of green grass on either side of 
the river. 

Thus the party followed the trail, finding plenty of 
indications of the progress of troops, and hoping at any 
turn to catch a glimpse of the rear of the Russian column. 
Their disappointment grew keener in proportion as it was 
longer continued, and the danger of the situation increased 
every hour. 

Presently the track led along the foot of some over- 
hanging cliffs, and as the party were moving quietly 
below, they were alarmed by a camel which came crashing 
down close to them, having fallen from the rocks above. 
The animal had broken its neck in the fall. The first 
thought of the wayfarers was that the beast had been 
thrown down upon them by Turcomans, and they expected 
to be assailed the next moment with a shower of bullets. 
They held their own rifles ready, prepared to defend 
themselves to the utmost, but no enemy appeared, and 
they ventured to go up to the fallen animal. They found 
it to be blind, and they concluded that it must be one of 
the camels abandoned by Kaufmann on his march. 

Hardly had the men recovered from this fright when, 

160 



RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 

turning a corner, they suddenly saw five horsemen 
advancing towards them. Again Mac Gahan and his 
companions stood on the defensive. But, to their no little 
relief, the enemy dashed unexpectedly into the Oxus, and 
made their way across, and so in the direction of Khiva. 
A shot or two sent after the fellows failed to reach them. 

After this the American and his followers gained the 
top of the cliffs, and well for them it was they had done 
so, for soon the guide caught sight of pretty nearly a score 
of Khivans encamped on the river bank down below, but 
at some distance. Such a number of the enemy could not 
be encountered, so a detour was made of some miles 
inland — into the desert — and the river was struck again a 
league or two below. 

Night was coming on, and just before it became dark, a 
couple of men were observed watching the party from the 
other shore of the river. However, Mac Gahan pushed on 
through the darkness, he and his men creeping silently 
and like spirits along the bank of the stream. Their 
situation was becoming every moment more dangerous. 
Twice they had been seen from the other side ; at any 
instant the enemy might be upon them. As the gallant 
leader says, their " nerves were getting unstrung." Their 
sole hope was that at any bend now they might catch a 
sight of the Russian camp fires. 

From the top of the cliff's a storm was presently seen to 
be approaching, and from their elevated position the 
travellers saw the lightning flash out far away to the west, 
and in the direction of Khiva itself. Suddenly one of the 
party fancies he sees a light ahead. It appears no more, 
but evidently it will not do to advance with the enemy 
H 161 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

possibly close in front. Tired out, for they had marched 
five-and-forty miles that day, the party halt by the river 
brink till daylight. Not a soul among the followers could 
be induced to mount guard ; all were dead with fatigue, 
and the leader himself had to undertake sentry duty. For 
hours he marched up and down in his loneliness, for the 
rest were sound asleep. The risk was, of course, very great. 
The weirdness of the situation was increased by the storm 
that continued. Every now and then a brilliant flash 
would light up cliff and river, and reveal the ghost-like 
faces of the sleepers, and then the darkness would resume 
its sway, the night blacker than ever. 

The morning came at length, and the march was 
resumed. The first mile proved how great the danger 
had been, for there were the still smouldering ashes of a 
camp fire. As it was the only fire around, it could not 
have been a Russian fire, but that of a Khivan scouting 
party. Had the American and his men gone on for a few 
minutes longer the previous night, it is certain he would 
not have lived to write his stirring account of his Oxus 
adventures. 

Another hour, and a roar as of distant thunder strikes 
the ear, startling the wayfarers. It is followed by other 
rolling thunders. There is no mistaking the meaning ; it 
is the boom of camion ! 

Kaufmann at last ! There was no doubt upon the 

point. And an engagement was taking place. But were 

the Turcomans between the war- correspondent and his 

Russian friends ? If so, the situation was more serious 

than ever. The American's companions were seized with 

mortal terror, and it was with great difficulty he induced 

162 



RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 

one of them to accompany him to the top of a small hill, 
whence a view might be obtained of the conflict going on 
in the distance. The view, however, was bounded by 
another and a somewhat loftier hill, a mile on in front. 
So far as Mac Gahan could judge, the scene of the battle 
would be about five miles away. He determined to make 
a bee-line for the cannonading, and was just about to 
start for the further hill when half-a-dozen horsemen came 
dashing over the crest. The fellows, seeing the travellers, 
made for the river at once and were no more seen. As 
the intrepid correspondent says, it was beginning "to 
grow exciting." 

Pushing on with all speed through the loose sand the 
party gain the next hill, and lie down amongst the grass 
to peer over. Now there is a sight that fascinates 
them ! 

Some two miles away they could see a long line of 
horses, a hundred probably, stretching loosely over a mile 
of ground. Mac Gahan himself could not see the riders, 
but his men assured him there were riders. It was 
impossible to tell at that distance whether the horsemen 
were Kirghiz or Turcomans, but their dress proclaimed 
them to be one of the two, and not Russians. If they 
should prove to be Kirghiz all would be well ; if Turco- 
mans, then the position was desperate. To go back, or to 
make a big detour to circumvent the enemy, would be 
impossible with horses so utterly exhausted. To attempt 
concealment till nightfall and then to slip through the 
Turcoman lines was hopeless. The district afforded no 
cover save a few pigmy sand dunes. 

By this time the guns had ceased firing, and the 

163 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

travellers hid themselves in the sand, awaiting with 
beating hearts the issue. Then all at once a couple of 
men were observed coming towards them. The crisis of 
events had arrived, for escape was now out of the question. 
Mac Gahan gave the order to his men to hide in the sand 
as well as they could and have their guns ready. Every 
man was well armed, but whether any among them could 
be trusted to hit anything the leader was very doubtful. 
He was uncertain even whether they would stick to their 
posts. His own plan was to let the enemy get within ten 
yards, and then fire. If the shots should prove effective, 
he would confiscate the fresh horses and attempt flight. 
Even so, his chances of reaching the Russian lines were 
not great, but the risk must be undertaken. In any and 
every case the position was a desperate one, for, of course, 
at the first sound of firing, the main band of the horsemen 
over there would rush to the defence of their fellows, and 
then 

The horsemen, now within fifty yards, were inclined to 
be cautious, as if scenting a foe. Mac Gahan glanced at 
his companions, but did not find much encouragement 
there, except in the case of a young Kirghiz he had with 
him. The cannonading suddenly began again in the 
distance at that instant. The American, his finger on the 
trigger, awaited the nearer approach of the two riders, 
and he was assured in a whisper by one of his men that 
they were really Turcomans he had to do with. 

The fellows were now within a score or so of yards, and 

the leader of the little party was just on the point of 

firing, when Mustruf, one of his servants, sprang with 

a joyful cry from the ground, and threw up his cap, wild 

164 



RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 

with delight. He had recognized in one of the horsemen 
an acquaintance, a Kirghiz ! What a revulsion of feeling 
must have come to the breasts of the little band in 
hiding ! 

The Kirghiz men were found to be in the Russian 
service, and on their way back to Khala-ata. From them 
the correspondent learnt that the Russian force was only 
three miles on in front, and that it was engaged in 
storming a fort situated on the other bank of the 
river. 

To spring joyfully into saddle again and push on to a 
nearer view of the operations, and to the proximity of 
friends, was the work of a moment. After half-an-hour's 
progress a most excellent coign of vantage was gained, a 
miniature sand-hill by the river's brink, with a good 
view of all the country round. The heart of the war- 
correspondent leapt with joy. He had arrived in the very 
nick of time — time to enable him to see the whole of the 
stirring events that were taking place at that hour. Had 
he had the full arrangement of matters in his own hands, 
he could not have timed his arrival better. 

The Oxus at that point was about three-quarters of a 
mile broad, but the opposite shore could be seen well 
enough. And a busy scene it was that met Mac Gahan's 
eyes there. Near the water's edge stood a fort, and below 
it a couple of cannon, which the enemy kept in constant 
action. The firing of the Khivans, in fact, was almost as 
rapid as that of the Russians. The watchers were sur- 
prised to see with what accuracy the enemy's guns were 
worked. Ball after ball came down right into the 

165 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

Russian troops across the stream. They were but old- 
fashioned cannon-balls, or the damage would have been 
great ; as it was, the shot appeared to strike the ground 
without causing harm to the Russians, merely ploughing 
up the earth for a distance. 

The effect of the Russian return fire was very different, 
and it could easily be seen even across the wide river. 
Each shell threw up the earth in all directions. It was 
wonderful the Khivans stood their ground as they did ; 
their two guns kept well at their work, however. It must 
have been an exciting time for all who witnessed this 
historic scene. This was the sixth time the forces of the 
Czar had tried to reach this place. Four times they had 
failed utterly, overcome by the distance, the weather, the 
difficulties attending the campaign. On one other occa- 
sion a body of Russians had succeeded, indeed, in making 
their way into the town of Khiva, but every man among 
them had been done to death through the treachery of 
the Khan and his people. Would this sixth attempt 
meet with any better success than the other five ? No 
wonder Mac Gahan looked on with intensest interest. 

The farther bank of the Oxus, where were posted the 

Khivans, was elevated somewhat above the river level, 

whereas that on which stood the Russian attacking force 

was very little higher than the surface of the water. The 

Khivans appeared to have thrown up earthworks — so at 

least the Russians thought — but it was found later on 

that it was merely the raised bank of a canal that had 

been seen from across the river. Above and beyond this 

embankment a peep could be obtained of trees and 

166 



RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 

gardens. A number of Khivan cavalry were clashing 
about by the shore. All this the American could well 
make out from his position of vantage. 

All at once came a change over the scene. One of the 
Russian shells exploded in the very midst of the Khivan 
horse. The effect was great and immediate. The fellows, 
terror-stricken, fled in every direction. Presently, how- 
ever, a number of horses returned, and the two field-pieces 
were dragged off from the bank and out of sight. In a 
few minutes the Khivan shore of the Oxus was entirely 
deserted, not a single soul remaining there. So ended 
the engagement henceforth to be known in history as the 
battle of Sheik-Arik. 

The war-correspondent lost no time now in making his 
way to his Russian friends, a matter accomplished not 
without some little trouble, the intervening country being 
intersected by numbers of canals and ditches. A Russian 
officer came out to meet him, and shouted, " Who are 
you 1 " 

" American," Mac Gahan replied. 

" You are the man who crossed the Kyzil-Kum 
alone ? " 

On replying that he was the very man, the correspondent 
was taken to General Golovatchoff, who was quietly 
smoking, seated on a gun. Not far away were lying a 
dismounted cannon and the dead bodies of a couple of 
horses. These comprised the entire losses the Russians 
had sustained in the battle. Though the ground about 
had been torn up in every quarter, yet, strange to say, not 
a man had been hit. 

167 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

The Russian troops showed every kindness towards the 
gallant Mac Gahan, and when, a little later on, he was 
presented to General Kaufmann, that distinguished officer 
paid him a well-deserved compliment by calling him a 
molodyctz, a brave fellow. 

Note. — From Mac Gahan's Campaigning on tJie Ozus, by permission from 
Messrs. Sampson Low, and Co. 



168 



XV 

ELK-HUNTING IN CEYLON 

Fort McDonald River — A fine elk found — Elk at bay crosses river — Two 
dogs follow — Struggle in the water — Near tlie edge of a great cataract 
—Danger imminent — Marvellous escape of dogs — Elk in stream now 
followed by the other hounds — One carried over the fall and lost — 
Hunters cross the river — Elk perched on a cliff three hundred feet high 
— An exciting scene on the ledge — Buck at bay — Leaps over the preci- 
pice — A doe chased by dogs also falls over the precipice — -A dog drawn 
into a subterranean pool — Strange escape — Another buck chased by a 
single greyhound — Animals near the edge of a huge perpendicular rock 
— Hound stops short, elk goes over the cliff. 

It is said that once upon a time a British Postmaster- 
General suggested the building of a bridge between 
Australia and Tasmania, in order to expedite the trans- 
mission of the mails from one island to the other ! He 
was mightily surprised to learn that the intervening strait 
is no less than a hundred and eighty miles across. In like 
manner a good many untravelled folk are inclined to look 
upon such an island as Ceylon as on the whole a small 
place, a place where, for instance, it is impossible to find 
anything like a big mountain or a formidable river. Such 
was not the experience of the renowned sportsman and 
soldier, Sir Samuel Baker. The Fort McDonald River 
alone gave him plenty of work and not a few exciting 

situations. 

169 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

The river runs at the bottom of an immense V-shaped 
gorge, and abounds in fine cataracts, " all of which," to use 
the hunter's own description, " however grand individually, 
are completely eclipsed by its last great plunge of three 
hundred feet perpendicular depth into a dark and narrow 
chasm of wall-bound cliffs. The bed of the river is the 
most frightful place that can be conceived, being choked 
by enormous fragments of rock, amidst which, the irresist- 
ible torrent howls with a fury that it is impossible to 
describe." It was in this locality that were witnessed 
some of the intrepid general's elk-hunting exploits. 

Ten couple of baying hounds were turned out early one 
May morning. Almost at once they found, and soon they 
were all coming at a great pace down the steep mountain 
side. The elk passed within a short distance of the 
hunters, and though he could not be seen for the jungle, 
it was clear from his track that the animal was a noble 
fellow. Down, down the hill slipped the men, in full pur- 
suit. So sharp was the slope that they had to hang on 
to the bushes now and then to prevent themselves from 
flying off irresistibly and down to the formidable river 
far below. After a considerable downward course, they 
met with some natives whose information sent them along 
the flank at that level. The sound of the dogs was lost 
now ; then all at once the ba}dng of a single hound showed 
that the elk was making straight for the river. That 
river was a dreaded locality, and both men and dogs had 
evidently rough work cut out for them. 

Again the steep scramble down began, the hunters hold- 
ing by the tufts of grass to prevent a too precipitous 
descent. At last the elk was seen standing on a grassy 

170 




The Elk charged and scattered the Hounds 

The elk in Ceylon, when hunted in the narrow and precipitous valleys, has a habit of 
making for the river, and therein lies the danger to both men and dogs. 



ELK-HUNTING IN CEYLON 

level within three hundred yards of the river. The whole 
pack of hounds was about him, eager for the attack. But 
the animal again and again charged them, scattering them 
in all directions, but always to gather once more. Between 
the grassy platform on which were the animals and the 
spot of sloping bank where stood the hunter, was a deep 
ravine, and down the side of this he dashed at headlong- 
speed. Presently he got a full view of the elk, and found 
him to be one of the finest fellows of his kind ever seen. 
The buck was thirteen hands high and carried a wonder- 
ful head of horns. Quickly Sir Samuel dropped to the 
bottom of the ravine, and then swung himself up the 
opposite bank till he was but a yard or two away. 

The elk turned and surveyed his new enemy, and not 
liking the looks of him, began to descend by narrow elk- 
paths towards the river, the dogs hard after him. The 
sportsman's blood was now hot, and in his excitement he 
followed the track over the most risky places. At last he 
found himself above a cataract of some eighty feet deep, 
though it was not the great cataract of all, which was a 
hundred yards lower down the stream. From this height 
Baker looked down upon elk and dogs, which had made 
their way to the brink of the river itself below. Though 
the hounds were so near, no sound of their voices reached 
their master, the awful thunders of the cataracts drowning 
all other noise. The elk appeared to be in a tight spot ; 
before him was the boiling torrent ; behind him a perpen- 
dicular wall of rock, all but in one part, where was the narrow 
path by which he had come down. That path was now 
crowded with dogs. 

Suddenly the buck sprang across the rapids, and leaping 

171 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

from one rock to another in the bed of the stream, reached 
the other bank. Here, however, the ascent was so steep 
that he could not gain a footing. In spite of all his efforts 
he slipped back into the furious torrent. By this time 
two of the hounds, to their master's horror, had bounded 
across the river after the buck, and the three animals 
rolled into the seething waters together. The elk re- 
appeared swimming strongly ; the dogs, unable to stem 
the rush of the torrent, were rapidly carried away in the 
foam towards the falls. 

It was a trying and exciting moment for the hunter. 
He saw his dogs within a few feet of the edge of the cata- 
ract, spinning round helplessly in the whirlpools. He 
shouted frantically to encourage them, but they were 
unable to hear a sound from him. All the time, however, 
they were making the most desperate efforts to escape the 
horrible fate that was impending. The struggling hounds 
were now hid from view by tufts of grass, but as they 
were almost at the very edge of the falls, their case was 
hopeless. Surely they had gone over ! The master felt 
himself sick. 

Then a sudden and most unlooked-for change ! The poor 
brutes were seen struggling up the steep bank. At the 
very last instant they had scrambled out of the frightful 
rush of the waters. A narrower escape was never wit- 
nessed, and the hunter sent up a joyful hurrah ! 

The elk meanwhile had held his own in the rapids a 

little above. The rest of the dogs in their mad eagerness 

had plunged in after him. That the whole pack would be 

lost, the master never doubted. Turned over and over by 

the whirling eddies, half smothered in foam, the hounds 

172 



ELK-HUNTING IN CEYLON 

were being rapidly swept to their destruction. One of 
them, " Phrenzy," was caught in the strongest part of the 
current. " Round she spun in the giddy vortex ; nearer 
and nearer she approached the verge — her struggles were 
unavailing — over she went ! and was of course never 
heard of afterwards. This was a terrible style of hunting ; 
rather too much so to be pleasant." 

Sir Samuel dashed to the river level as quickly as he 
could, but only just in time to see the elk making his way 
up the opposite bank with a whole crowd of dogs hard 
after him. Luckily but one was missing; every hound 
had saved himself save the ill-fated " Phrenzy." To cross 
the river was now the problem, but the hunter found a 
place where a risky passage was made by leaping from 
rock to rock. With others of his party he crawled up 
the steep side of the ravine, and a quarter of an hour's 
scramble amongst the tall lemon-grass succeeded. The 
men could not see a foot before them for the grass, and 
did not know whether their very next move would not 
precipitate them headlong down some perpendicular wall 
of rock. Neither elk nor dogs could now be seen, and the 
noise of the falls, not so far away, prevented any sound of 
baying reaching the ears of the hunters. For a time they 
were at a loss, but kept scrambling on, away from the 
distracting roar of the falls. 

At last the voices of the dogs at bay were distinctly 

heard. The next moment the buck was seen standing on 

a rock platform a little ahead, the rock dropping almost 

sheer down into the river far below. For the second time 

both elk and hounds had got themselves into an awkward 

position. Should the elk charge the hounds, some of 

173 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

them must inevitably be knocked over the edge of the 
towering cliff on which they stood. On the other hand, 
there was no other escape for the elk himself. 

The men went down with care and succeeded in reaching 
the platform. It was of very limited extent, being, in 
fact, but a few yards square. The cliff stood a good three 
hundred feet above the gorge. The buck was a splendid 
fighter, and ever and anon would turn upon the dogs, 
coming almost within reach of the spear carried by one of 
the natives. Without firearms it was very difficult to kill 
the animal, and indeed it would have been dangerous to 
make an attempt in so confined a place. The dogs seemed 
to be aware of the dangers of the situation, and kept away 
from the edge of the precipice and near their master. 
The elk soon settled matters. Suddenly, to the intensest 
amazement of all present, the buck plunged into the 
gorge below ! A second or two later a thud was heard, 
and then nothing more save the thunder of the waters. 
The hounds gazed fearfully over the edge. 

It needed a course of half-a-mile, over frightfully rough 
and precipitous ground, to bring the hunters to the bottom 
of the cliff from which the animal had fallen. There lay 
the dead body, almost every bone of it smashed. Carry- 
ing the carcass out of such a gorge was, of course, im- 
possible to so small a force, and so the sportsman cut off 
the antlers, the finest he ever secured in all his hunting 
experiences. Later on the village folk went to fetch away 
the body, when, to their surprise, they found it had been 
removed. Following the marks on the ground they 
presently came upon the remains of the carcass, and a 

couple of leopards were scared away by the approach of 

174 



ELK-HUNTING IN CEYLON 

the people. The leopards had disposed of an astonishing 
amount of the flesh. 

The McDonald River seemed to be full of dangers for 
both hunter and hunted. On another occasion a doe was 
started, and was soon racing down the steep rugged sides of 
the valley, followed by the whole pack of dogs. The men 
could not get near in time, but they heard the doe scream ; 
some of the dogs had evidently bitten her. In no long 
time the hounds returned, and the master scolded them 
for their want of success. The cause was seen before 
long, when the dead body of the poor brute was found at 
the bottom of a precipice. One of the dogs had seized 
it by the ear, but the ear had torn, thereby saving the 
dog's life. The elk was found dead in the river below, her 
thigh broken. 

An extraordinary misadventure befell one of the dogs 

as the master was opening the dead doe. It was pushed 

into a pool in the river by a greyhound. The pool was 

surrounded by rocks, and it was immediately seen that 

there was a strong downward current. The unfortunate 

dog was struggling for life, making the most desperate 

efforts to prevent itself from being sucked down into the 

depths of the pool. The master with difficulty reached 

over, and, making a slip-noose with his handkerchief, 

managed to throw it over the head of the hound. But 

the distance was too great to admit of his exerting enough 

strength to pull in the dog. A moment more and the 

noose had slipped from the head, and down the poor brute 

went instantly. That all was over for the poor animal, 

Sir Samuel did not doubt, but he went round the rock to 

see if the dead body would be thrown out by the current. 

175 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

To his surprise and delight the hound appeared, half 
drowned by its passage through the subterranean water- 
course, but still safe and uninjured. 

A third elk, started in the grassy plain, made for the 
ravine, or rather for the first of two ravines there were. 
Here he stopped to sniff the breeze, and evidently scented 
the enemy. Making off he turned into the other ravine, 
bringing himself thus quite near the hunters. Three 
greyhounds were after him in an instant, and a fine up-hill 
chase commenced. The elk was no match for the grey- 
hounds in speed, but two of the dogs lost sight of him. 
The third dog kept gallantly on, and was soon within two 
or three score yards of the animal. All alone the dog 
turned the elk, and in a moment the course was down-hill, 
the pace tremendous. 

From his position, Baker could see the chase in every 
detail. The hound kept to its work well, gaining on the 
quarry every moment. But the watchers had soon cause 
for alarm. The buck was making straight for a sheer 
precipice. If the present pace continued, hunted and 
hunter must inevitably go over the cliff. The excitement 
grew; the elk was now quite near the fatal edge, yet 
seemed to be as yet all unaware of the danger. The dog 
made a grab at his ear, as usual. The ear gave way, but 
the hound's speed was checked for the moment. It was 
enough to save the greyhound's life, even as its master 
was shouting, " He'll be over ! " 

Far less time had elapsed in this last headlong chase 

than it takes to read the description of it. And the elk ? 

At the instant when the dog had checked his career, the 

buck had bounded over the cliff. " He flew outwards, and, 

176 



ELK-HUNTING IN CEYLON 

with frightfully increasing momentum, he spun round and 
round in his descent, until the centrifugal motion drew 
out his legs as straight as a line. A few seconds of this 
multiplying velocity, and . . . crash ! " The greyhound 
had pulled up at the very last second, the buck had met 
an undeserved fate. Sir Samuel tells us that he was 
really sorry for the poor brute, whose fate seemed so 
unfair. But to see the huge animal flying in such a way 
through the air was one of the most " terribly grand " 
sights that could be imagined. Within a few days two 
bucks had thus gone over precipices. 

The men made their way to the base of the cliff, a depth 
of two hundred and fifty feet. The body was much 
smashed, having dropped upon a number of loose bits of 
rock lying at the base. 

Sir Samuel Baker's elk-hunting experiences were almost 
too numerous to remember, and they were for the most 
part wonderfully successful. The very next morning after 
the events just related he killed another fine buck. This 
time the animal did not leap down a precipice, but was 
killed in open run. Then, in the course of a twelve days' 
hunt, he secured a bag of no less than twelve elks and 
two red deer. The elk has an invariable habit of making 
for the river, if it be at all possible for him to do so, and 
therein lies the danger to the dogs, which follow the 
quarry even into the most ugly rapids, as we have seen 
from the accounts just given. 



12 177 



XVI 

PERILS ON THE RHONE GLACIERS 

Glaciers as part of a river course — Mr. Ball, with four companions, 
approaches the Glacier du Tour — The ice-cornice — Fearful ex- 
perience and narrow escape — Glacier de Trient — The "window" — 
Glacier de Salena — Dangerous descent — Great chasm with a torrent 
at bottom — An ice cataract — Precipices close in upon the mountain- 
eers — Darkness comes on — Great torrent below — The climbers encamp 
for the night on a steep slope— Difficulty of keeping up the fire- 
Little food left — Sleep impossible — A start at earliest dawn — Another 
tremendous hollow — A great climb necessary — Level of the glacier 
reached again — Glacier rivers aud pool — A cold bath and toilet — Long 
march down the river valley to Orsieres. 

Everybody is familiar enough with the expression " ice 

stream," often used, especially by men of science, for 

glacier. Yet not everybody realizes that a glacier is a 

stream — a river — which flows down-hill — however slowly 

— winds along the bottom of its valley, and, in short, has 

all the characteristics of a river. True, the glacier is for 

the most part a hard-frozen river, but it is none the less 

a real river for that. To realize the truth of this, we have 

only to consider what we should see if some great change 

in climate, or some enormous heating, were to melt the 

whole of the vast ice-field. In place of the lofty and 

crevasse-seamed waste of ice, we should find a rushing 

178 



PERILS ON THE RHONE GLACIERS 

torrent at the bottom of the valley, and part of the sides 
of the valley which were once covered by the accumulated 
ice would now show to the light of day. The torrent 
would contribute its waters to the stream below just as 
did the melting foot of the glacier aforetime. In other 
words, the river, which before the melting of the glacier 
seemed to begin at the foot of that glacier, would now be 
carried farther back into the heart of the mountains. 

Take the magnificent series of glaciers, for instance, 
that lie in the northern valleys of the great Mont Blanc 
range. These melting at their northern ends — their lower 
portions, that is — all send down contributory streams to 
the valley of Chamouni, where flows the river Arve, which 
itself is an important feeder of the great river Rhone. 
Every one of those glaciers may thus be regarded as upper 
sections of the Rhone, as much a part of that river as the 
reach on which stands Lyons itself. 

There is a nest or group of these glaciers standing at 
the eastern end of the great Alpine mountain section just 
mentioned, the glaciers of Le Tour, Trient, Orny, and 
Salena. Fifty years ago the Glacier du Tour was very 
little known to climbers, but Mr. J. Ball, with two other 
gentlemen and two guides, made a notable journey amongst 
this glacier group in 1859. 

The weather was exceedingly unfavourable for a start, 
wind, rain and mist combining to make things decidedly 
unpleasant. However, the party rose early, and set off from 
the little hostelry in the valley where they hadjspent the 
night, believing that the weather showed signs of an 
improvement. The Glacier du Tour, majestic as it is 

179 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

is almost altogether concealed from view till you are 
fairly in its valley, and, as it were, upon it. The travellers 
ascended the flank of the mountain, for the most part 
shrouded in fog, but they were rewarded by a marvellous 
glimpse of the sunshine gilding the pointed top of the 
Aiguille Verte, almost over their heads. Then from the 
edge of the precipice they had gained, they looked down 
on the surface of the glacier, a thousand feet below them. 
The ice river was pouring itself, however imperceptibly, 
over the ridge to the lower portions just as if it had been 
water in the liquid condition. There was, in fact, an ice 
cataract on a splendid scale. 

It was no easy matter to descend to the level of the 
upper glacier, but the mountaineers had no time to spare, 
and pressed on. The brilliancy of the atmosphere and 
the glitter of the snow soon compelled the men to put 
on their spectacles. The difficulties of the path increased 
every moment. Huge crevasses were everywhere, and 
very dangerous. Many of these they had to pass crawling 
along like snails, and even so, they had to lay their alpen- 
stocks on the snow to distribute their weight more evenly. 
At last, after numberless experiences of this kind, the 
party came to a crevasse of such width that it would have 
been madness to attempt to cross it in the same fashion. 
Whichever way they turned they found their path barred, 
and at length they got themselves into such a labyrinth 
of crevasses that it took them some time to find their way 
out again. 

A high and steep bank of ice had now to be climbed, 

and as the guides were heavily laden, Mr. Ball himself led 

180 



PERILS ON THE RHONE GLACIERS 

the way. Thus at length the upper end of the Glacier du 
Tour was gained, from which elevation there was a mar- 
vellous view, and the climbers were fain to stop awhile to 
admire. The Aiguille d'Argentieres towered up over 
their heads from amidst the ice fields in truly superb 
fashion, while the surface of the glaciers below was a 
waving sea, the ice in hummocks and knolls and rolling 
billows, as if the mountain hollows were filled with huge 
storm-tossed seas and fiords. 

The climbers had now traced the Glacier du Tour — the 
upper and frozen part of one of the Rhone feeders — to its 
highest part, under the immense rock wall that bounds it 
on the south. Near there was observed another needle- 
shaped peak rising out of the mountain mass, and between 
this aiguille and the glacier was seen a little passage. 
Towards this cleft or passage the men made their way, 
ever upwards, by the laborious method of step-cutting for 
the most part. It was work toilsome in the extreme, bub 
the reward came when suddenly the gap was reached, and 
the wonder of the peep through revealed itself to their 
gaze. Beneath them, but hundreds of feet below, lay the 
whole Glacier de Trient, its surface apparently a perfect 
and spotless sheet. Not a crevasse could be observed in 
it from that height. The mountaineers were, in truth, 
looking down upon another of the many — nay, the count- 
less — valleys whose waters go to make up the rapid 
Rhone. 

How to get down to the level of the Glacier de Trient 

so far below them, Mr. Ball and his companions were for 

a long time puzzled to see, and when at last they decided 

181 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

to go down a sharp knife-like ridge, they found it both 
difficult and dangerous. They were reallytravelling along 
an overhanging cornice of snow. Mr. Ball and one of the 
guides reached the bottom, or rather a sort of stopping 
station, in safety. But one of the other Englishmen had 
a terrible experience here. He was sliding down a section 
of the cornice, but losing his direction, was nearing the 
fatal edge, from which there was an awful ice-slope of 
three or four hundred feet. Mr. Ball thus tells the rest 
of the story : "It was a terrible moment, as there was 
only one chance. It was utterly impossible for him to 
stop himself, or for either of the men to help him. Bal- 
mat was already some distance below, cutting steps, and 
Cachat was engaged with W., twenty or thirty paces 
higher up. R. showed great presence of mind. He did 
not utter a word, but threw himself on his right side, so 
as to pass as near to the edge as possible, and stretched 
out his arm for me to grasp. Fortunately he passed just 
within my reach, and I was able to catch his hand and 
arrest his progress, otherwise it might have been a very 
sad day for all of us." He adds that Mr. R. showed great 
prudence and forbearance, and said nothing that could 
shake the nerves of the others of the party. The rest of 
the journey down was so heavy a bit of work that it tried 
the strength of even the strongest of the guides. 

They now crossed over to another gap in the rocks 
beyond, a gap they had seen for a long time. To reach it 
the men had to cross a frail bridge of ice, but luckily it 
held under their weight. The spot was one of the wildest 

bits of all the wild Alpine country, no description at all 

182 



PERILS ON THE RHONE GLACIERS 

adequate being possible to any pen. One of the guides 
christened the gap " la f entire," the window. Through 
this grand window they had a wonderful view of another 
of the Pennine river-valleys, the valley occupied by the 
Glacier de Salena. This third glacier lay hundreds of 
feet below the Glacier de Trient, just as that lay far 
below the level of the Glacier du Tour. The descent was 
long and extremely rough, and meanwhile the day was 
advancing rapidly. A view of a fourth ice-field was 
obtainable, that of the Glacier d'Orny, to the east of 
their position. 

But by this time it had become evident to the party of 
mountaineers that their chances of reaching a roof, either 
at Orsieres, or any other place, were very small indeed. 
The evening was coming on apace, and here they were on 
the glacier, with a stupendous rock- wall bounding their 
southerly progress, and apparently no practicable egress 
on any other side. Weary, hungry, faint, they began to 
climb again, the only escape possible seeming to necessi- 
tate that step. In the course of time they found them- 
selves at an elevation of at least two thousand feet above 
the Glacier de Salena, which they had last left. So steep 
was the ground that a stone thrown from their post would 
have bounded and rebounded till at length it would have 
landed on the very surface of the glacier itself. They 
found a curious pool of melted snow lying in a hollow of 
the glacier, and in the pool were reflected some of the 
magnificent towering peaks. 

Then a steep descent began towards the Salena glacier, 

and as Mr. R was suffering from lameness, it tried him 

183 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

severely. It was by this time pretty plain to all except 
Balmat the guide, that it would be necessary to pass the 
night on the mountain. This being the case, Mr. Ball 
and his companions were delighted when, after the lower 
level had been reached, a turn brought the party to a 
number of dwarf rhododendrons growing among the rocks. 
A fire, at any rate, was now possible, a most desirable thing 
amidst those wind-swept wastes of snow and ice. The 
last bit of the descent, however, proved to be almost a 
precipice, and it was not at first seen how it could be 
achieved. 

Mr. Ball at this point had his narrow escape, just as 
Mr. R. had had his above. He and Balmat had as usual 
hurried on, and had reached the debris at the bottom of 
the precipice, when suddenly a big stone was dislodged 
by one of the men higher up. Mr. Ball heard it coming, 
and darted away from its track. But the next instant 
the bounding stone struck a rock, which, turning its 
course, sent the missile right in his direction. It missed 
his head by an inch or so, whizzing past at a frightful 
speed. 

Difficulty followed upon difficulty. At the extremity 
of the glacier, the chasm between it and the rock was so 
deep and so awful that it was impossible for the climbers 
to cross it. There was, in fact, no other way of getting off 
the glacier than by crossing it to another part, and then 
making yet one more trying ascent. And the path now 
lay across very broken and trying ground, the accumula- 
tions of debris fallen from the heights above. At raid-day 

it would have been exceedingly dangerous to pass beneath 

184 




The Rock came crashing down 



The dangers of the Alps are many, and those from falling stones are amongst the 
most frequent and serious. 



PERILS ON THE RHONE GLACIERS 

this intermittent shower of stones and rubbish, but now 
at the close of the day the risk was less great, and the 
party managed to cross the place in safety. By this time 
the rays of the sun gilded the tops of some of the peaks, 
and those only ; darkness was at hand. Balmat still 
hoped to find a cattle-track by which they might be 
guided to some habitation. 

Another rapid descent brought the mountaineering 
party at last to a practicable part of the glacier. Then, 
lower, they came to a place where the glacier went 
tumbling down over a ledge, just like a veritable waterfall. 
Now a very steep-sided ravine had to be crossed, a feat 
accomplished only with much trouble. Then, to the 
delight of the wearied men, they came into a valley whose 
stony sides were plentifully covered with various mountain- 
shrubs, junipers, dwarf rhododendrons, and the like. Find- 
ing a sheep-track the party pressed on, but it was now quite 
dark. Shelter for the night was the only thing to be 
thought of, and they saw many likely places among the 
rocks, but there was no water to be had near. 

And now the great precipices began to close in upon 

them on every side. Hearing the noise of a torrent far 

below, they scrambled down towards it for some distance, 

but the more they advanced the less they seemed to be 

approaching the sound of the water, and a halt was called. 

Balmat, however, volunteered to descend till he had found 

the torrent. The man was away for so long a time that 

the rest began to be afraid that some accident had 

befallen him, and a great hallooing was set up. No reply 

came for some time, but at last his shouts were heard, 

185 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

and after an interval Balmat re-appeared out of the pitchy 
darkness. His advice was to ascend once more so as to 
strike the torrent higher up its course, but this proposal 
all declared to be out of the question. They stumbled up 
a little way, and then, utterly exhausted, they refused to 
travel farther. A fire must be made on the spot, and 
they must trust to finding water by the aid of its 
glare. 

Balmat had brought on a load of rotten sticks from a 
fir- wood they had passed some time before, and with these 
a blazing fire was soon made. Around grew bilberry and 
rhododendron, and material from these kept up the fire. 
It was now between eight and nine o'clock. The two 
guides took each a lighted stick, to seek for water, and 
fortunately a small trickle was found at no very great 
distance. It was more than twelve hours since the men 
had had their last meal, and it was with a good deal of 
misgiving they hunted in their knapsacks for whatever 
food there might be left. They found some mutton, three 
or four pounds of bread, raisins, chocolate, sugar, and half 
a flask of kirschwasser. One of the party had some citric 
acid and lemon essence, and with these and the icy water 
a satisfying if cold drink was made. Altogether, the stock 
of food was about enough for half a meal for the five. 
And when they would get more food no man among them 
could say. 

The question of sleeping accommodation now had to be 
discussed. There was nothing to lie upon except the 
saturated bilberry clumps. The ground was, moreover, so 
steep that it was impossible for any sleeper to prevent 

186 



PERILS ON THE RHONE GLACIERS 

himself from rolling down the hill, unless he could find 

some little hollow to serve as a nest. The travellers were 

desirous of getting on their way again at the first signs of 

daylight, say, soon after four. Meanwhile the fire must 

be kept in, or the results might be serious indeed. It 

was resolved that the night should be split up into five 

watches. Then four of the five men turned in as best 

they could. Mr. Ball himself found that it was only by 

clinging hard to the bilberry shrubs that he could prevent 

himself from slipping down the slope. He was compelled 

to move away from the fire altogether, and managed to 

find a little hollow to sit in, and a rock to support his 

back. He tied his handkerchief about his head, and tried 

to think he was warm and happy, but it was a miserable 

failure, for he was perishing with cold. At length the 

resourceful Balmat bethought him of a useful thing. He 

carried the shivering mortal a stone warmed by the fire, 

and on this Mr. Ball sat. 

It was a marvellous night, and even the discomforts 

and dangers of their position could not keep such of the 

climbers as were wakeful enough from admiring the sky. 

But it was now Mr. Ball's own turn to take watch and 

manage the fire. He found his task no light one, and it 

was as much as he could do to keep it going well. The 

bilberry was consumed in a moment, and the junipers 

were terribly prickly, and tried the hands severely. He 

had to go farther and farther afield for fuel, and at length 

found an alder, branches of which he sawed off with his 

big knife. He was very glad when his own watch ended, 

after midnight, and another man came on duty, leaving 

187 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

him at liberty to go back to his hollow and the warm 
stone. Sleep, however, was out of the question ; hunger 
forbade it. After two o'clock, in fact, not a man could sleep. 
All were cold, famished, weary, dirty, and the haggard 
looks of the party proclaimed how seriously every man 
had suffered. The cold increased towards the morning, 
and a chilling fog came on. The wind cut like a knife, 
and every moment the frost seemed to become more 
severe. 

Never did night seem so long ; never was dawn so long 
in coming. The watchers tried every possible position. 
If they sat to windward of the fire they were speedily 
frozen stiff; if they got on the warmer side the smoke 
was driven by the gale into their faces to such an extent 
that they were almost blinded and suffocated. When at 
last a faint blush of red in the sky heralded the approach 
of dawn, every man was ready to jump up and shoulder 
his knapsack. Their way lay through wet scrub, and 
their legs were soon wet through and icy cold. Altogether 
they presented a dirty, unkempt, and forlorn spectacle. 

The descent was very steep, but picking up their sheep- 
track of the former night once more, they followed it down. 
They found themselves overlooking a tremendous hollow, 
between a lofty precipice on the one side and the glacier 
on the other. To have clambered down this would, it 
was clear to them, have saved much time and distance, 
but they were baulked by the presence of a number of huge 
boulders lying in the way, and they had to keep to the 
glacier still. After an hour's descent, the wayfarers came 

upon a beautiful little streamlet, with one part extended 

188 



PERILS ON THE RHONE GLACIERS 

into a miniature lake. Here the party stopped for toilet 
operations. Some of them threw off their clothes and 
plunged boldly into the lakelet, though the cold must 
have been intense. Then washed, combed, brushed a 
little, they went on their way again, rather more like 
civilized beings. But their appetite was keener than 
before, and they were still far from a breakfast. 

It was by no means straightforward going even yet. 
The path led down a goodish bit, and then all at once it 
became necessary to mount again, and that to a consider- 
able height. From this elevation they could look down 
on the glacier, and were surprised to find that it still 
stretched on down the valley, and ever down. It seemed as 
if the ice-field were going to keep on its course to the very 
end of the valley in which it ran. Mr. R. was by this 
time so much distressed that it was proposed to leave him 
behind and hasten on to fetch help, but that gentleman 
was too plucky to give in, and plodded on manfully. A 
fir- wood hid every glance of the fertile and sunny valley 
below, the Val Ferret. 

The change that came over the scene presently was 
absolutely startling in its suddenness. Emerging from 
the wood the men found themselves in a different land. 
Behind them, above the wood, reigned winter and desola- 
tion — glacier, mountain torrent, awful precipice, frowning 
peak, snowy waste ; now, before them, lay a smiling, sun- 
lit and fertile country, with its beautiful fresh green 
grass, and many a homely chalet studding the land. Yet 
they were in the very same valley as before. The Rhone 

torrent tributary was now dashing along merrily enough, 

189 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

but it was the same stream whose long, frozen upper 
reaches had given the travellers so much trouble. 

It was not till half-past ten that the mountaineers 
reached Orsieres, having accomplished a feat memorable 
even among the many memorable exploits of Alpine 
climbers. 



190 



XVII 

HUNTING ADVENTURES ON THE NILE TRIBUTARIES 

Seven big-game hunters start for the Abyssinian tributaries of the Nile — 
Lions, giraffes, and buffaloes on the Settite — Mr. Colvin charged by 
bull buffalo — The result of using conical bullets — Narrow escape 
from crocodile — Fine fishing in the Settite — The "kelb-el-bakr," a 
terrible fish— Wild beasts at the pool— Two " lions " wounded in the 
night — They prove to be panthers — Lion stalking — Sheep used to 
attract the lions — Two wounded, one a magnificent specimen — Both 
found and killed next day — Hippopotamus flesh much prized — Bad 
blood between Bas6 tribes and Abyssinians — A war scare — Hunters 
surrounded by bostile Abyssinians — A "view-halloo" scares away 
the enemy — Mahomet, servant to the Englishmen, speared by the 
Abyssinians. 

A party of seven English gentlemen, accompanied by 

English and African servants, spent a part of the winter 

of 1881-2 in the Soudan, Abyssinia, and the basin of the 

Atbara and its feeders. One of their chief objects in 

visiting such a region was sport — big-game hunting — and 

of this they had their fill. All kinds of game abounded, 

from the graceful and timid antelope to the panther, the 

buffalo, the lion, and the elephant. The rivers furnished 

excellent fishing. Baboons and others of the monkey 

tribe were plentiful enough, but these the sportsmen were 

unwilling to kill. 

One day when the party were on the river Settite, a 

fine tributary of the famous Atbara, a report was brought 

191 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

that a herd of elephants had visited a pool not far away, 
and that a few hours later a number of buffaloes had 
come to the same spot to drink. Three of the sportsmen 
determined to pass the night in watching the pool. 
About three in the morning several shots were heard by 
those who had remained in the camp, and it was hoped 
that the hunters had brought down an elephant. By 
noon next day the sportsmen returned and told their 
story. A giraffe had come to the pool to drink, but the 
night being dark they had been unable to make anything 
of him. Some time later a herd of buffaloes, numbering 
twenty or thirty, had come up, and, notwithstanding the 
feebleness of the moon, the party had brought down one 
of the animals, the rest beating a retreat. Nevertheless, 
it was believed that a second buffalo had been hit, and as 
soon as it was light the sportsmen set to work to track 
the wounded animal. For five hours in the blazing sun 
the chase was kept up, and just when they were about to 
abandon the track, the animal suddenly appeared, and 
charged them. A fortunate shot in the forehead pre- 
vented the buffalo from doing damage. It was found on 
examination that the first bullet had lodged in the hind leg. 
It is not to be wondered at when we read that the 
attractions of that particular pool drew some of the 
hunters to the spot again the next night. They shot a 
cow buffalo before midnight, and then had a lively time 
of it for the rest of the watch. First to arrive at the pool 
was a big herd of buffaloes, but these seem to have taken 
alarm at once and made off. Two bulls next appeared, 
and one of them the party evidently wounded, as the 

bellows of the beast were heard at intervals through the 

192 




The Hunter was thrown in one direction, his Gun in anothei 



ADVENTURES ON THE NILE 

night. Then in the early dawn a second herd, numbering 
some thirty buffaloes, came along. One of these was 
wounded, but escaped. Hurriedly swallowing breakfast, 
the three sportsmen began to track the injured animal. 
Suddenly the buffalo darted from its hiding-place behind 
a bush, and furiously charged one of them, Mr. Arthur 
James. That gentleman fired both barrels, and both balls 
took effect, though they did not stay the career of the now 
maddened beast. In an instant the buffalo turned upon 
Mr. Colvin, another of the party. So unexpected was this 
charge that Mr. Colvin had hardly time to lift his rifle to 
his shoulder before he was struck by the animal. The 
hunter flew in one direction, his gun in the other, and the 
buffalo fell between the two. The shot had not killed the 
animal, but had lamed it so that it was unable to get up 
again when it fell. This was an exceedingly narrow 
escape, too much so to be at all comfortable. 

The party went on, in search of the bull buffalo that 
had been wounded earlier in the night. A long track 
they had, and, to add to their excitement, they found un- 
mistakable proofs that the animal had been pursued by 
no fewer than three lions. In one spot the marks plainly 
showed that the bull had turned and attacked the enemy. 
According to the reading of the various signs along the 
track by one of the African servants, two out of the three 
lions had after a time given up the chase, while the third 
had kept on for a great distance. The hunters, however, 
saw nothing of the lions themselves. 

Excellent though the guns were that were carried by 

the hunters, yet on one or two occasions the weapons 

seem to have played them sorry tricks. One of the party 
13 193 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

decided to try for the first time pointed or conical, instead 
of the usual round bullets. Apparently this was more 
than the gun could stand. The report was deafening, 
and, what was worse, the recoil was so great as to send 
the sportsman spinning. For the moment he was dazed 
and helpless, and it would have gone hard with him had 
an infuriated beast been upon him at the time. An 
examination showed that both barrels had gone off at 
once, the jarring caused by the one shot having fired the 
other. This being the second time such a thing had 
happened, it was decided that the use of the conical balls 
must for the future be abandoned. 

The experience of the Englishmen led them to the 
conclusion, quite unexpected by them probably, that the 
crocodile is on the whole a shy animal. Not that these 
creatures are really afraid of man ; not at all, but they are 
disposed to keep out of the way as a rule, except in deep 
water. Mr. F. James had, however, one narrow escape. 
He and his brother had gone to the brink of the river to 
drink, at a place where the water was very deep, and was 
stooping down and drinking out of his hand, when his 
brother suddenly pulled him back. There, within a 
couple of feet, was a huge crocodile, making straight for 
him. It was a narrow escape. The crocodile made off at 
once when the men sprang back. Had the brute not 
been observed, it is more than likely that he would have 
knocked one or both into the river with his tail, in which 
case their chance of escape would have been small 
indeed. 

There was excellent fishing in the Settite, and with both 

net and rod the sportsmen were very successful. The 

194 



ADVENTURES ON THE NILE 

number of fish was most satisfactory, but the size was 
seldom at all extraordinary, the largest caught by any of 
the party being some five-and-thirty pounds. There was 
no doubt that bigger fish were to be found in the river, 
but none happened to be caught. The net brought good 
hauls — one day a hundred and fourteen fish, whose weight 
totalled up to some three hundred and sixty-five pounds. 
The African servants were very loth to join in the heavy 
work of pulling the nets, though they were ready enough 
to take their share of the result in the way of fish. 

There was one species of fish, called by the natives 
" kelb-el-bahr," a terrible fellow to fight. His teeth fit 
into one another like those of a rat-trap. Moreover, he 
possesses a moveable upper jaw. When this fellow gets a 
good hold there is a bad time of it in store for the victim. 
These ferocious fish fight to the very last gasp, often 
smashing tackle wholesale, and a bite from one of them is 
a serious matter, as one of the servants found to his cost 
when a kelb seized him by the ankle. 

The buffalo was by no means the only savage animal 

that came in the way of the hunting party. Often a few 

hours would bring near them quite a variety of big game. 

Lying in ambush one brilliant moonlight night, they 

hoped that a lion might come to the water hard by. The 

excitement was naturally great. Two or three little 

jackals were the first of the thirsty beasts to pay the pool 

a visit. They barked like dogs, and after a good drink 

departed, the hunters in no way molesting them. In no 

long time after the departure of the jackals some larger 

animal appeared, a leopard or a panther, so far as the 

watchers could judge. The shot fired missed, to the 

195 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

chagrin of the sportsmen, and the animal scampered off 
into the bush again. Determining to fire both barrels at 
once should the same animal return, the men kept a brisk 
look-out. The brute did come back at the end of a 
quarter of an hour, but the couple of shots fired at him 
seemed at first to have taken no effect, for he stood for a 
space. Then he made for the bank, but his wounds did 
not permit him to ascend, and he lay all night where he fell. 

Now a roaring near at hand proclaimed the approach 
of a lion, as the watchers fully believed, and the excitement 
grew more intense. The animal could be seen broadside 
towards the hunters, and both meo fired together. The 
luckless beast was evidently badly wounded, for with a 
roar he sprang up from the pool and took to the bush. 
He did not get far, apparently, for he was heard groaning 
at intervals through the night. 

When morning light came, the men left their place of 
concealment to look for the two wounded beasts. The 
first proved to be a small panther, while the second, the 
" lion," turned out to be a very big panther. 

But there were lions about notwithstanding. On the way 

back to the camp, Mr. F. James ascended a hill to get a look 

around and to see if any game could be observed. On the 

way he saw giraffes, but could not get a shot. He tried 

his hand at a sort of wild cat, but missed. On arriving at 

the top of the hill, he at once noted a lion lying under a 

tree two or three hundred yards away. This was the first 

lion he had seen that year, and he was anxious to secure 

it. He made cautiously for the spot, but his approach 

would seem to have disturbed the animal, for he was 

unable to see anything of it. 

196 



ADVENTURES ON THE NILE 

Meanwhile Mr. James's two brothers had been more 
fortunate. They, with Messrs. Aylmer and Colvin, had 
also been watching through the night, but in a different 
place. The four gentlemen posted themselves in suitable 
spots, each man having with him a native with a spare 
gun. Mr. Arthur James was posted near the water, and 
his brother William under a bush in the open, close by 
which ran the tracks of the lions coming down to drink. 
A sheep had been tied to a bush near the water, to attract 
the carnivora. 

How intense the excitement must have been under the 
circumstances, even the least imaginative reader will under- 
stand. The poor sheep, trembling, tugged vainly at its 
rope ; the watchers trembled also, but with excitement 
and suspense. Presently Mr. William James was visited 
by no fewer than five lions at once. The animals stood in 
a group under a tree at some little distance, then one of 
them suddenly sprang furiously and with a loud roar upon 
the unfortunate sheep. Mr. James fired and grassed the 
lion, but did not kill him. The beast made off groaning. 

No long time after this another lion, the sixth that 
night, came up and stood looking at the sheep. When 
Mr. James, having waited till he could secure a really 
good aim, was about to pull the trigger, the beast ran off 
with a loud growl, to the sportsman's keen disgust. How- 
ever, the lion returned after a while, and, spying the man, 
stood evidently wondering what he was. As the distance 
was only about forty yards, Mr. James took careful aim at 
the chest. The result was a roar of pain from the beast, 
who made off at once, and rejoined the other wounded 

197 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

lion not far away. The two could be heard groaning 
together all night. 

The other men, who had heard the shots during the 
darkness, were naturally eager to learn what had happened, 
and came up at daylight to inquire. A search revealed 
one of the lions still groaning in the bush. Stones were 
thrown to make him come out, but without the desired 
result. So the party cautiously advanced and found the 
poor brute just dying. The ball had entered the chest 
and was found embedded in one of the flanks, having 
travelled the whole length of the body. This lion proved 
to be a magnificent specimen, measuring over nine feet in 
length. The other wounded beast was tracked by the 
blood-marks for several miles, but it was not seen again. 

Mr. Arthur James, who, it will be remembered, passed the 
night in ambush near the water, had also his experiences. 
He saw only two of the noble brutes, but both came very 
near. They were a lion and a lioness. The watcher fired 
at the latter, her companion at the same moment making 
off. The lioness passed actually within eight yards of the 
hunter. At daybreak he found the animal dead, the 
lungs pierced, and one leg broken. On this occasion 
also his rifle played him the trick of sending off both 
barrels at once. Had the shots not taken effect, and had 
the animal made for the man, as it might well have done, 
his situation would have been a dangerous one indeed. 

The hippopotamus is getting scarcer every year, even 

on the upper parts of the Nile and its tributaries ; from all 

the lower portions of that river it has disappeared entirely. 

Mr. Aylmer was the first of the hunting party to secure 

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ADVENTURES ON THE NILE 

one of these huge animals. The first shot had the effect 
of half stunning it, but a good many more were required 
to give the hippopotamus his quietus. The flesh of this 
animal was greatly prized by the Arabs, who speedily 
indulged in a big feed. The rest of the flesh they cut into 
strips and hung on the trees to dry. The tusks are often 
large and valuable ; they make desirable trophies for the 
big-game hunters. The fat is excellent for cooking pur- 
poses, and the hide is used for the making of whips. Mr. 
Colvin the same day shot a hippopotamus a few miles higher 
up the river. It sunk to the bottom when struck. Presently 
a hippo was seen coming up to breathe, and the sportsmen 
naturally took it to be the wounded animal. This the 
Arabs declared to be a mistake, saying that the carcass 
would be seen floating before long. The Arabs were correct 
in their surmise, for the following morning the huge body 
was found on the surface, and a photograph of it was 
secured. 

But it was not always the wild and savage beast with 
which the Englishmen had to do. The country through 
which they were travelling, or at any rate a portion of it, 
was occupied by the Base tribe. The natives of the dis- 
trict were disposed to be friendly towards the new-comers, 
almost too friendly at times, for they would follow the 
hunters about in numbers to secure any spare meat there 
might be. Now and then the sportsmen had to send all 
their Base" followers but two or three to a distance, before 
any attempt could be made with success to approach the 
game. At that time there was bad blood between the 
Base - tribes and the Dembelas, a neighbouring Abyssinian 

people. There had been many alarms respecting these 

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ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

Dembelas, but so far no hostilities had interfered with the 
Englishmen and their sport. 

One day, while some of the hunting party were tracking a 
buffalo, they were startled by the sudden appearance among 
them of a Base, who, with torn face and bleeding legs, yelled 
out that the Abyssinians were coming. He was followed by 
five or six more of his tribe. The Englishmen, however, 
regarding these black fellows as cowards, went on with 
their search. While the party were eating their lunch, 
they saw some others of their servants galloping in frantic 
haste towards the camp. The fugitives called out in great 
excitement that the Abyssinians had come in a numerous 
body, and that Messrs. Aylmer and Phillips had been sur- 
rounded by them. Naturally the hunters made all speed 
back to the camp, their appearance there being greeted 
joyfully by their anxious comrades who had not been of 
the buffalo-tracking band. The men in camp were well 
aware that those who had just returned had gone in much 
the same direction as the unfortunates who had been 
surprised by the enemy, hence their anxiety. Meanwhile 
they had hastily done what they could to strengthen the 
little camp, and had fired all the grass around, so as to 
deprive the foe of cover should they attack the place. 
They had also served out guns to the natives, possibly 
without much expectation that the blacks would be able 
to use the weapons with any effect. 

Messrs. Aylmer and Phillips, on their part, had in the 
course of their hunting expedition wandered eight or nine 
miles from home, when they saw an Abyssinian run across 
the dry bed of a stream. He was followed by a second ; 

then a third was observed. The Base men with the 

200 



ADVENTURES ON THE NILE 

Englishmen at once turned tail and fled in mortal terror. 
It was these fellows who had startled the buffalo-hunting 
party. A minute later the Englishmen, Mr. Phillips and 
Mr. Aylmer, found themselves in the midst of a band of 
some hundred or more of the Dembelas. One of the Arab 
servants, who had remained with their masters, yelled 
" Fire ! Fire ! " Another, who knew the country better, 
was against that course, and said it would be wiser under 
the circumstances to make friends, or a?nan, as the phrase 
in use had it. 

Accordingly, the hunters laid their rifles on the ground 
before the Abyssinians, and endeavoured to show every 
token of peaceableness and amity, to which the fellows 
replied by kissing their hands in sign of friendship. The 
next moment they showed their real intentions by pouncing 
upon the guns, fighting wildly among each other for the 
possession of them. The Arab servants thereupon made 
a dash for safety. The enemy rushed to get hold of Mr. 
Phillips's horse, a move Mr. Aylmer attempted to frustrate 
by using his revolver. Strange to say, the weapon would 
not go off, a lucky thing for the Englishman, who could 
have had no chance against so overwhelming a force. 

Then an extraordinary thing happened. Mr. Phillips 
set up a loud view-halloo, an unaccustomed sound that 
caused an immediate panic among the foe, who fled helter- 
skelter. The two Englishmen were thus enabled to make 
for the camp and their comrades, the Arab servants follow- 
ing with all haste. They had escaped with their lives, but 
had lost three guns, a revolver and one of their horses. 

Turning back to help the Arabs, they heard, to their 
dismay and horror, that Mahomet, a fine specimen of a 

201 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

man, had been terribly wounded. He had been struck in 
the abdomen with a spear, and his intestines were pro- 
truding. He was hurt in two or three other places. The 
wounded man, who had fallen behind, could not be found 
that night, though a search party sought long for him. 
Next morning Mahomet struggled back into the camp, 
having made a most heroic effort to reach the place, but 
his case was hopeless from the first, and death soon released 
him from his sufferings. The sportsmen were deeply 
affected by this worthy fellow's death. 

Note. — From The Wild Tribes of the Soudan (F. L. James), by kind 
permission from Mr. John Murray. 



202 



XVIII 

ROUGH TIMES ON THE AMAZON 

Amazon less explored than it deserves — The Amazon Steam Navigation 
Company sends out three Englishmen to survey — Mr. Lidstone, an 
engineer, ascends the Tapajos tributary — A crazy boat and a crew of 
two — The rains and the heat — Frightful thunderstorms — Mr. Lidstone 
spends time in a tumble-down hut — The two men in the boat 
swamped — Provisions spoilt — Novel caulking materials — A weary 
round of violent storms — Loss of rudder — Of oars — Fourteen hours 
for seven miles — Party make for Santarem — Another terrible tempest 
— Insect pests — Mosquitoes — Wasps — Ants — Bees — An adventure 
with a centipede — Alligators and jaguars — Enormous toads — One of 
the explorers bitten by a scorpion —At death's door — Strange cure, 
and wonderful recovery. 

For reasons perhaps not far to seek, less interest has 
been taken by the ordinary European in the exploration 
of the Amazon than in some others of the great rivers of 
the globe. Yet the Amazon is the mightiest of them all, 
and not a few travellers of first rank have visited and 
written charmingly on the vast area intersected by this 
enormous river — Humboldt, Waterton, Bates, and others. 
Excellent reading is to be had in the narratives penned 
by more recent travellers, too. In the year 1873 three 
British gentlemen were sent out on a surveying expe- 
dition by the Amazon Steam Navigation Company, of 
London, and their account of their adventures and 

experiences is well worth perusal. 

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ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

The difficulties the party had to encounter were both 
many and serious — the heat, the storms, the insect and 
other pests, to say nothing of the minor but very real 
difficulties in the way of procuring food, shelter, boats, 
and men. And if some of their misadventures were 
laughable enough, there were others that must have been 
heavy and disheartening at the time. 

At the junction of the Amazon with the Tapajos, 
one of the largest of its tributaries, the exploring party 
thought it well to divide their forces for a time, two of 
them keeping to the main stream, while Mr. Lidstone, 
a civil engineer, went to survey the banks of the 
Tapajos. 

His troubles began from the very start, and indeed 
before it. After a weary search no other boat could be 
found than a leaky old craft, with the merest rag for a 
sail, and with no toldo, or deck-cover, an absolute necessity 
in a land where the mid-day sun is straight overhead. 
For crew he had at his disposal only three Portuguese 
sailors, and as one of them fell ill with fever, he was, 
of course, left behind. Thus two only remained, neither 
of whom spoke English, and the engineer's Portuguese 
was not exactly fluent. 

Rigging up a huge toldo of palm thatch, and mending 

his sail with some coarse sacking, Mr. Lidstone departed, 

taking with him as provisions mainly salt beef, codfish, 

potatoes, biscuits, and coffee, with no other chattels and 

goods than such as were absolutely necessary to the 

surveyor. It was in the month of January, and the rainy 

season. The prospects were black from the first, yet if 

204 



ROUGH TIMES ON THE AMAZON 

the opportunity were neglected now, the work could not 
be taken up again for another six months. 

The heat was awful, and even the woodwork of the 
boat became so hot under the rays of the sun that it was 
painful to touch any part of it. The engineer was com- 
pelled to creep under the cover to escape the scalding 
heat. Naturally Jose and Antonio, the two Portuguese 
sailors, fell asleep. When master and men awoke they 
found that an ominous change had come over the face of 
the sky. The heavens were of a leaden hue, while the 
dead air left the surface of the river as smooth as glass. 
There was, in truth, the wonderful stillness that all the 
world over portends and immediately precedes a violent 
thunderstorm. So absolutely quiet was everything around 
that even the croaking of the frogs on the distant shore 
could be heard. 

Seizing their oars, the occupants of the boat endeavoured 
to make for a village on the bank, where shelter might 
perchance be found. The lightnings began their startling 
and almost incessant illuminations, whilst the thunder 
was deafening and alarming to a degree. Luckily the 
rain kept off till the shore was reached. Then it began 
in earnest. No shelter was available save an empty 
house. The school-master, who lived next door, sent his 
slave to remove the palm-thatch screen that stood for a 
door, a ludicrously unnecessary proceeding, seeing that 
every flash of lightning showed numerous other apertures 
in the sides of the building. 

All alone in this dark and desolate shanty the engineer 

spent the long hours of that terrific night, for the sailors 

205 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

had had to creep under the cover of the boat as best they 
might, to guard the stores. 

The morning dawned dull and dispiriting, though now 
the rain was not so heavy, and the travellers set out for 
Jurucui Bay, not far distant in actual miles. Yet it took 
some hours of hard rowing to reach the place. By this 
time the sweeping downpour had begun again, and there 
was nothing for it but to put up a little tent and settle 
down for the night, Jose and Antonio remaining under 
the toldo, as on the previous night. As for Mr. Lidstone, 
he found it almost impossible to sleep at all, so incessant 
and thunderous was the roar of the tropical rain on the 
canvas of the tent. He had just fallen into a sound early 
morning nap, when he was awakened by a frantic hubbub. 
The boat had sunk with the two men and all the valuable 
possessions aboard. The men had scrambled out quickly 
enough, but the damage to the cargo was serious, some of 
the provisions being entirely spoiled. The next hour or 
two saw a medley of clothing and eatables spread out on 
the bushes to dry, the sun now having shown himself 
once more. 

Part of the stock brought along by the Portuguese was 

a box of coarse brown sugar; this, after its ducking, 

presented the appearance of a greenish-brown mud. It 

was placed on the beach to dry, but to no purpose, for it 

persistently refused to recrystallize during the whole of 

the Tapajos survey. To crown all, swarms of bees at once 

flocked to the exposed sugar, and men and insects had a 

lively time of it till the stuff could be placed under cover 

again. 

206 



ROUGH TIMES ON THE AMAZON 

The boat when fished up was in no encouraging 
condition. The heat of the sun had made the seams 
yawn wide, and it was through these ample rifts that the 
stormy waters of the river had made their way and sunk 
the boat. No other caulking materials being at hand, 
the master had to give up one of his towels for the 
purpose, the strips being thrust into the cracks as well as 
the travellers were able. 

A fine Sunday only served to usher in a stormy 
Monday, and there followed a week trying beyond 
measure. A weary round it was of storms, violent winds, 
terrific lightnings and deluging rains, the waters of the 
river all the while rolling in on the beach like huge sea- 
billows. To all appearance, in truth, the Tapajos was a 
sea, for so wide was it there that the travellers were 
unable to perceive the opposite bank, except in fine 
weather. Many a time the crazy boat rocked so violently 
that it threatened to dash itself to pieces against the 
beach, tugging wildly at the heavy anchor all the while. 
Attempts to kindle a fire were not seldom as unsuccessful 
as they were frantic and prolonged. 

Little progress in the surveying operations was to be 

expected under such circumstances, but the leader, with 

British doggedness, held on his way, meeting with varied 

experiences. At one time Jose pitched the camp near a 

dead porpoise, and the party had to beat a hasty retreat. 

Another day, at the hour for the morning start, the rudder 

was found to be missing. It had been left on the beach 

to be used as a bathing-board, but the Tapajos had risen 

in the night and swept it away. A long search for it was 

207 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

unsuccessful, and at length the boat had to proceed with- 
out rudder. Dodging about in this crippled condition, the 
craft was directed hither and thither as the triangulation 
work needed, and then suddenly about noon what had been 
lost was found. It had been carried for two or three miles 
along the bank, though there was everywhere a thick 
growth of bushes that projected over the edge of the water. 

The loss of one of the two oars was more serious. A 
heavy wave swept it overboard, and though it was seen 
dancing among the waves, not all the most desperate 
efforts of the three men could secure it again, and it 
floated at last out of sight. A substitute had to be made 
by nailing the side of a small box to the rough branch of 
a tree. But Jose, who had fallen sick, was unable to take 
his share of the rowing. 

Antonio now determined to hoist the sail, though the 
wind was adverse, and though the master had warned the 
man that it was a useless proceeding. Then followed a 
long and memorable struggle. From eight in the morn- 
ing till three in the afternoon — seven weary hours — the 
fight with the elements went on, the craft all but capsized 
times without number. The sole result was the gradual 
drifting of the boat farther from the shore. Not an inch 
of ground had been gained ! Still the effort was con- 
tinued, and towards evening with some slight success. 
Late at night, after fourteen hours of laborious and 
incessant struggle, the magnificent distance of seven miles 
had been accomplished. 

Mr. Lidstone was now making for Santarem and the 

Amazon, having done all man could do at such a time and 

208 



ROUGH TIMES ON THE AMAZON 

under such conditions. The ill-luck that had dogged 

every step of this subordinate surveying expedition clung 

to it to the end. The last few miles of the voyage were 

performed under exciting circumstances. A frightful 

storm was seen to be brewing, and every effort was put 

forth by the three men to reach Santarem, which could 

be descried in the distance ahead, before the full fury of 

the hurricane burst upon them. What proved to be the 

most terrible of all the storms they had yet experienced 

broke suddenly in all its violence, the lights of Santarem 

still some way off. It was a race between storm and boat, 

and the former proved the winner. When, in a moment, 

wind and rain together struck the river, the boat staggered 

and refused to face it. Nothing like this hurricane had 

afflicted the three travellers before. It seemed as if all 

the waters in and above the heavens were descending 

simultaneously. With immense difficulty the boat was 

got to land, the storm now at its very worst. Mr. Lidstone 

instantly sprang to shore, and with his mackintosh drawn 

tightly about his form, made a dash for the house of a 

friend, Dr. S . The streets were veritable rivers, and 

the engineer splashed through a foot of water all the 

way. The Doctor at first was unable to recognize the 

half-drowned friend at his door, but when he did, he 

greeted him with a hearty and most welcome cry of 

" Come right along in," a cheering and hospitable sound 

to the storm-driven traveller. 

But the weather, vile as it was, was far from being the 

only trouble the travellers had to encounter during their 

long journeyings on the Amazon. There were the insect 
14 209 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

pests, for instance, a severe trial at all times, and in some 
cases even dangerous. Mosquitoes there were, of course, 
but as every traveller in tropical or sub-tropical lands 
meets with them, little need be said here. These insects 
hung about the woods all day, and at night swarmed into 
the habitations of men. The tiniest light attracted them 
in myriads, and the explorers were not seldom fain to give 
up their little game of cards of an evening and retire to 
bed and into their nets. And woe to the unhappy wight 
who had no insect net ! For him there was no such 
luxury as sleep. 

As for wasps, they were encountered everywhere, and 
in crowds — big wasps in huge nests, little wasps with a 
tiny nest under a single leaf, middle-sized wasps in count- 
less throngs. The trees in places were full of wasps' 
nests, the structures looking like huge puddings among 
the branches. As the travellers moved through the 
woods the nests aloft often received a shake, when down 
swarmed the angry inhabitants to punish the disturbers. 
On one occasion, after a long and hot journey across 
country, the surveyors, half dead with thirst, were cheered 
by the welcome sight of a spring of water ahead. What 
was their surprise and dismay to find the pool in possession 
of a swarm of thousands of wasps, every inch of surface 
being covered with the drinking insects ! How to get at 
the water, so much coveted and needed, was for some 
time a sore puzzle to the parched wayfarers. But human 
ingenuity proved equal to the difficulty. A fire was set 
going amongst the surrounding grass, and the approach 

of the circling flame soon routed the formidable enemy. 

210 



ROUGH TIMES ON THE AMAZON 

Then the travellers, brushing aside the corpses of the foe, 
took their fill of the cool element, their thirst too great to 
admit of any squeamishness. 

Worse even than the wasps were the ants. The variety 
of their ways of inflicting torture upon the human subject 
was as astonishing as the numbers of the insects were 
incalculable. Almost everywhere the bushes were full of 
these pests, and they dropped in their thousands on the 
heads of the travellers. Other kinds advanced on the 
ground from all quarters of the compass. Certain of the 
milder sort simply tickled in an irritating fashion, but did 
no other harm. In some cases the odour emitted was 
atrocious — sickening. But far worse were the ferocious 
kind, including the majority of the tropical ants. These 
stung and bit with results to the victim that were 
maddening. Some kinds were not far short of an inch 
in length, and against these the utmost caution had to 
be observed. Their holes were about the roots of bushes, 
and whenever there was any cutting of wood to be done, 
a careful watch had to be kept lest they should sally forth 
and attack the bare feet. 

Not less troublesome were the bees. There was a very 
small sort that would persist in settling about the eyes of 
the explorers during the heat of the day, to drink up the 
perspiration they found there. Others of enormous size 
wheeled about and suddenly swooped down on their faces 
at lightning speed, the injury received being not from 
their stings, but from the cutting force of the impact. 
There was nothing for it but to run when any of these 
horrible insects were about. And they would sally out 

211 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

on the intruder on the slightest disturbance. Often the 
travellers had to devise dodges for getting past their holes 
scot free. This was usually done by advancing cautiously 
when the bees were at peace in their fastnesses, and 
suddenly plugging up the hole with a bit of wood. 

In and near the sandy plains, the clouds of flies were 
so great as to prevent the surveyors from reading their 
instruments. 

At Prainha, one of the Amazon towns, there was a far 
worse plague than all, a plague of ticks. Some of these 
were of the tiniest kind, like grains of dust, whilst one 
huge and disgusting sort were almost as large as pearl 
buttons. With these fearful creatures the bushes swarmed, 
and they stood on their hind legs, ever ready to bear down 
upon any advancing victim. In every direction they were 
seen coming, and it is no wonder the travellers had often 
to spend a full hour after reaching their camp, in ridding 
themselves and their clothing of these loathsome pests. 
As the writers observe, " Insects were the supreme rulers ; 
the whole creation groaned because of them, every beast 
or bird had its own peculiar parasites and tormentors." 
And elsewhere they say that the insects were practically 
the tyrants and masters of all in those tropical regions. 

An adventure with a centipede is worth relating. One 

evening, Mr. Brown, the leader of the expedition, was 

quietly reading in the tent, when suddenly, with a yell, 

he threw down his book and sprang from the ground. A 

centipede had bit deeply into his knee. Seizing his leg 

tightly with one hand, to stop the upward journeying of 

the brute, with the other he endeavoured to crush the life 

212 




An Indian of the Amazons 



ROUGH TIMES ON THE AMAZON 

out of the thing — a useless attempt, for the shell of the 
centipede was far too stout. The sufferer had now a 
ticklish time of it, trying with one hand to unfasten and 
slip off his nether garments, while with the other hand he 
kept the foe from inflicting more damage. With consider- 
able dexterity he managed it all, jumping away from his 
cast raiment with laughable celerity. Thankful was he 
when one of the party, a naturalist, promptly thrust the 
unwelcome intruder into a bottle of spirit, and made a 
sj)ecimen of him. 

Thus, strange as it may appear, there was much more 
to be feared from the smaller enemies than the greater, 
from the flying and creeping things than from the fierce 
land animals or the river monsters. These bigger enemies 
troubled the explorers but little, in a general way. True, 
there were alligators not far away, when the men took 
their cooling and delightful headers into the waters of 
the rivers at eventide or in the early morning hours. 
And it was necessary sometimes to keep a boy or two 
on the watch, to give warning if one of these beasts 
should be seen approaching too near. Then there were 
the jaguars, or South American tigers, as they are often 
called. They were now and then observed, but almost 
always at a little distance. For the most part the jaguar 
kept in the recesses of the woods, and there it was not 
often the explorers were called on to penetrate. Now 
and again one of the brutes would roar at the surveyors 
from the bank of the river. And on one occasion a jaguar 
was observed swimming across the stream, just ahead of 

the boat's bows. A gun was levelled at him, and he 

213 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

received the contents full in his face. But it was only 
small shot, and apparently did him little harm. With a 
yell he made off into the woods and disappeared. 

Toads of enormous size were sometimes encountered, 
one kind bearing on its shoulders great protuberances 
or knobs, for all the world like a hen's egg, and quite 
equal to one in bulk. Then there were prodigious earth- 
worms, not far short of a yard in length, and as thick as a 
man's finger. These, and such as these, though they were 
in no way dangerous, did not help to make life happier on 
the borders of those interminable tropical forests. 

The expedition came near to ending disastrously with 
the death of its engineer. It was towards the close of 
their operations. Mr. Lidstone was one day lifting a log, 
when suddenly he became aware of a frightful and agoniz- 
ing pain in his hand, that shot up at once into the armpit. 
To begin to suck the tiny wound was the work of an 
instant. While this was being done, he made a search 
for his assailant, but found nothing. The pain almost 
at once grew so violent, that he knew the injury must 
be a serious one, and he made for his companions. It 
was with the utmost difficulty he reached the rest of the 
party, and when he did arrive, it was in a most distressed 
condition. The wound was examined and pronounced to 
be from the bite of a scorpion. Whether the hurt had 
been received from the white or less dangerous sort, or 
from the more venomous kind, no one could say. It was 
most unfortunate that there was no remedy at hand. 

Very soon the sufferer was in an alarming state, his 

legs doubling beneath him, and his body rigid with cramp, 

214 



ROUGH TIMES ON THE AMAZON 

which seemed to attack every muscle of his frame. He 

was placed in a litter, and his limbs were rubbed with 

great vigour. " I am dying ! " was all the poor fellow 

could manage to get out, so swollen and twisted was his 

tongue. His companions did what they could to cheer 

him, though themselves losing hope. 

An hour passed, spent in vigorous rubbing, but all 

efforts to keep up the circulation appeared to have failed, 

and Mr. Lidstone grew cold and white. He was still 

conscious, however. At this juncture one of the servants 

of the party, an Indian, made a lucky suggestion, namely, 

that a piece of ginger he had found in his pocket should 

be given to the now dying man, for in truth there seemed 

no hope of recovery for the patient. Only too glad to try 

anything at so grave a crisis, his companions administered 

the ginger, sending to the camp with all speed for brandy 

at the same time. 

But the camp was a long way off, and before the 

messengers returned with the brandy, the worst was past, 

fortunately. The ginger seemed to have a wonderful 

effect, its heat gradually restoring the circulation. Soon 

the symptoms became much more encouraging to the 

anxious watchers. Presently the sick man was attacked 

by a violent vomiting fit. This gave much pain, but no 

doubt was of incalculable service. He now became feverish, 

and suffered from an insatiable thirst. His temperature 

was astonishingly high. 

But the sickness had taken a favourable turn, and the 

engineer grew rapidly better. For a day or so he was 

obliged to lie by, but recovered enough by the third day 

215 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

to be able to attend a little to his duties. In the end he 
recovered completely. His hired servants welcomed him 
into their midst again, as they might have welcomed one 
who had risen from the dead. The oldest of the men 
took off his hat and made a little speech. How nearly 
the engineer's life had come to a premature and painful 
end, his companions well knew. 

Note. — From Fifteen Thousand Miles on the Amazon and its Tributaries 
(Stanford), by kind permission of Mr. "W. Lidstone. 



216 



XIX 

ON CANADIAN TORRENTS 

Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle attempt the North-West Passage by land- 
River McLeod reached — Horses set the forest on fire — Desperate 
efforts of the men to extinguish it — Horses in a panic — Fire mastered 
at last — Dangers in the Myette valley — A stream flowing west un- 
expectedly met with — The "divide" had been reached — Western or 
Pacific slope of Rocky Mountains — Fraser River struck — Narrow rock 
path blocked — Obstruction dislodged — Two horses get into the Fraser 
and are carried away — Indian rescues one — Pluckiest deed of the 
whole journey — Other horse lost with many valuable things. 

During the earlier part of the nineteenth century the 
air was full, so to speak, of talk about the North-West Pas- 
sage, the passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific waters 
by the northern route. Britain had sent of her best — a 
Franklin, a Ross, a Parry, a McClintock, with many 
another — and had, alas ! lost some of the grandest of them 
all in the effort to track a way through the great frozen 
seas that bound the northern shores of the vast American 
continent. It occurred to a notable hunter and explorer, 
Viscount Milton, that a way might be found by land from 
the eastern to the western shores of North America, even 
in the high latitudes of the Hudson's Bay Territory. And 
with his friend Dr. Cheadle, Lord Milton set out on the 
long and arduous journey before them. Few books of 
travel are so fascinating, so full of adventures, as that 

217 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

written by those two gentlemen on their return. Not 
the least remarkable thing is that they actually managed 
to cross the great range of the Rockies almost without 
losing sight of a stream. They might almost have been 
said to traverse the Rocky Mountains oy water. 

By rushing river or smaller stream, or along the banks 
of such, the adventurous two, with their hired servants 
and their companions, had reached the McLeod River, along 
whose course they kept for a couple of days. They were 
far on their course from the eastern coasts to the line of 
the Rockies now, and had imperceptibly risen a good deal 
more than they suspected at the time. By the banks of 
the McLeod an adventure of quite a fresh sort awaited 
them. The trees stood so thickly together that the party 
were obliged to clear a space for the camp. Then two 
fires were made, a smaller one for the human beings, and 
a larger fire at a little distance for the horses. 

The explorers were lying comfortably by their own fire, 

or were cooking their meal, when suddenly a loud outcry was 

made. The trees near the bigger fire were discovered to 

be ablaze. It was an alarming sight, and the men sprang 

to their feet with horror. The fire had been caused by 

the stragglings of the horses to get near the warmth ; 

they had kicked some of the burning logs amongst the 

growing trees. These, though green, blazed up amazingly. 

Dr. Cheadle ran with an axe and began to cut down the 

trees for very life, while Lord Milton rushed for water. 

Soon the two men were almost surrounded by burning 

trees, the heat becoming terrible. The conflagration 

spread like magic. 

By this time panic had seized upon the horses, which 

218 



ON CANADIAN TORRENTS 

began to dash about in the wildest fashion. One of the 
poor brutes in his frenzy managed to fall down right in 
the thickest of the fire. Dropping axe and bucket the 
two men endeavoured to drag the burning animal from 
his dangerous position. For a space all their efforts were 
in vain, and in their desperation they began to beat the 
horse about the head. Then all at once the beast sprang 
up and dashed away in his agony. It was a close 
thing, for the explorers had been just on the point of 
leaving everything to its fate and making for the river. 
As for the horse, it was afterwards found to be badly burnt 
about the legs and singed almost all over its body; it 
survived, however. 

Meanwhile the forest fire had gained ground in an awful 
fashion, and it says much for the pluck and dogged deter- 
mination of the Englishmen when it is stated that they 
made a second attempt to subdue the flames. The task 
seemed hopeless, but they worked on, exerting every 
muscle to the utmost, and this in spite of heat and blind- 
ing smoke and the serious risk involved. Gradually they 
cleared a ring round the camp side of the fire, and at 
length had the satisfaction of seeing their tremendous 
efforts crowned with success. A tragedy even may have 
its humorous side, and the comic element was not wanting 
here. Travelling for a time with the explorers was a 
classical scholar, a Mr. O'B., whose futile feebleness on all 
occasions was well exemplified now. He for a time took 
no part in the work of extinguishing the flames, but 
remained quietly enjoying his rest, reclining on the moss, 
his boots off. Being at length called upon to do his share 

in the heavy work, Mr. O'B. took to putting his boots on, 

219 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

an operation that occupied much time. At last he was 
ready, and he appeared on the scene from time to time 
bringing half-pints of water in his little drinking-mug, 
and throwing them upon the roaring, leaping flames ! 

The following day the party turned away from the 
banks of the McLeod and traversed a belt of pine forest, 
the day finishing up with one of the most fearful thunder- 
storms they had yet encountered. In no long time they 
found themselves on the Athabasca, a splendid swollen 
stream, fully two hundred yards wide, even there. To 
cross this formidable river seemed an impossible task, and 
the Englishmen were much relieved when their Indian 
followers declared that the trail ran alongside the stream 
for some distance yet. When at last they did cross, it 
was only with difficulty and risk, for the waters were still 
broad and rapid. When they had got over, they found 
they had unfortunately left behind one of their two 
axes, but in spite of the serious nature of the loss, they 
did not think it worth while to re-cross so formidable 
an obstruction to fetch it. 

The way now lay up a narrow ravine, that of the tribu- 
tary river, the Myette, where, owing to the precipitous 
nature of the banks, and the extreme narrowness of the 
valley, the travellers were compelled to cross and re-cross 
the stream times out of number, or to make what progress 
they could along the bed of the torrent itself. The way 
was blocked or hampered by fallen trees or by big boulders 
which lay in every direction, and the horses had to leap 
the obstructions or scramble over them. Much of their 
course at this stage involved great risk, for the water was 

in places deep and the current swift. 

220 



ON CANADIAN TOKRENTS 

The last fording- place over the Myette proved to be the 
worst. The waters rushed along in a boiling cataract, as 
it were, and it was only with great hesitation that the 
party entrusted their horses to the mercies of the torrent. 
The way was led by one of the Indians, an Iroquois. This 
man, after a hard struggle, gained the opposite bank. Then 
the pack-horses were driven into the water, and lastly the 
chiefs of the expedition plunged in. Mr. O'B., as usual, 
was in a terrible fright, and on nearing the other shore 
promptly dashed up the bank and left his horse to fend 
for itself. The pack-horses for the most part were carried 
down the stream, and it was fully expected some of them 
would be lost; however, next day, all were recovered. 
The flour and the pemmican with which they were laden 
had suffered badly. 

The track still led along the bank of the Myette, and a 
rough bit of travelling it presented, the ground being an 
almost continuous bog. Then it became necessary to 
cross this most tiresome river yet again, and the travellers 
were preparing for another fording. To their great joy 
they discovered a little raft moored to the bank, but it 
was the further bank. One of the Indian boys volunteered 
to go and fetch it, and mounted a horse for the purpose. 
The rest watched his progress with anxiety. The other 
bank was so steep that the horse could not get up it 
at all, and in its efforts to raise itself out of the water, 
threw the boy into the flood. He managed to grasp the 
mane and scramble out, but he had had enough, and re- 
turned without the raft. Another Indian, an Assiniboine, 
now tied a rope to the tail of a horse and made the at- 
tempt. He, too, gained the other bank, but without the 

221 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

rope, which had slipped off the tail in the passage. This 
put the party in a quandary for a time, till the Indian, 
with ready wit, suggested that the rope should be tied to 
his dog. This was done, and the animal swam over with 
it at the call of his master. A few ferryings across 
brought over the baggage, and the travellers bade 
farewell gladly to the troublesome Myette. 

The normal difficulties of the track were immensely 
increased at this stage by the number of the fallen trees. 
There had been an extensive forest fire recently, and the 
charred trunks were lying everywhere. The horses grew 
tired of the constant jumping over these obstacles, and 
such of them as were loose would dart off, whenever 
possible, into the thick part of the wood. It was only 
that morning the explorers had left the Myette, and now, 
the same evening found them encamped beside another 
stream, the Pipestone River, a feeder of the Myette, as 
they afterwards learnt. The spot was very beautiful, 
surrounded on almost all sides by the grand moun- 
tains. 

The Englishmen had reached an important point in 
their journey sooner than they had anticipated. Before 
the end of the following day's march, they were sur- 
prised to come across a streamlet flowing in a westerly 
direction. Was it possible they had come to the " divide " 
without knowing it ? Were they now actually looking 
down the Pacific slope of the gigantic Rocky Mountains ? 
Such, in truth, was the case. "We had unconsciously 
passed the height of land," they write, " and gained the 
water-shed of the Pacific. The ascent had been so gradual 

and imperceptible, that, until we had the evidence of the 

222 



ON CANADIAN TORRENTS 

water-flow, we had no suspicion that we were even near 
the dividing ridge." 

Passing Buffalo-dung Lake, the travellers were delighted 
with the fine appearance made by two lofty peaks on its 
shores. The Iroquois wished to name these two mountains 
" Montagne de Milord," and " Montagne de Docteur " 
respectively, but the leaders of the expedition determined 
to call them Mount Fitzwilliam and Mount Bingley. 
A little farther on the Fraser River was struck, one of 
the longer and more important of the streams that drain 
the western or Pacific side of the Rockies. 

The difficulties of the way were by no means lessened 
now that that way lay down the western slope. The 
Fraser valley proved trying to a degree. The river was 
so swollen as to fill nearly all the narrow ravine in which 
it ran, and the travellers had for weary hours to plod 
along, the water often up to the saddle-girths or over, 
and at the best the path lay through boggy swamps, 
where there was no possibility of pitching a tent. That 
day's march had to be prolonged till actual darkness, and 
the party were only too glad to come at length on a bit 
of dry ground where they could encamp. In short, this 
part of the long tramp proved everywhere most difficult 
and trying. Even apparently trifling matters became on 
occasion mishaps that might end seriously. For example, 
one of the horses was found to have got itself during the 
night to the other side of the Fraser. To fetch back the 
animal, the Iroquois plunged into the ice-cold and dangerous 
torrent and swam across at the risk of his life. 

After a day or two the trail left the banks of the river, 

and made a steep ascent of the lofty bluff. The path 

223 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

was very narrow, so narrow, indeed, that there was barely 
room for the horses to set foot. The rock was of loose 
and crumbling slate, and the track was about as dangerous 
as it well could be. However, it was safely followed for 
some distance. Then the progress of the party came to 
a sudden stop, for a time. A huge fallen boulder com- 
pletely blocked the path. To go back was impossible 
for the horses; to go on was equally impossible. Mean- 
while the poor brutes were standing on a narrow rocky 
ledge, the steep sides of the valley dropping for hundreds 
of feet down to the river. The men hit on the expedient 
of cutting down pines and using the poles as levers. 
An hour's hard work sent the obstructing rock crashing 
down, till with a great bound it plunged into the river 
below. The Englishmen were interested to note the 
presence of slate-rock now. It meant that they were 
nearing the gold-bearing regions, slate being the "bed- 
rock" of the Californian miners. 

The fifteenth of July proved to be a day of misfortune 
to the expedition, a day the explorers had reason to 
remember. The story of the mishap was this. Two of the 
horses were left to run loose as the party made their way 
along the Fraser. Presently they got off the bank, which 
was covered with the swollen waters, and wandered off 
into the river itself. In an instant the rapid rush of the 
flood carried them away, and the Iroquois and a boy 
went off in pursuit. The rest followed hard after, along 
the bank. A mile lower down the animals were found 
now in shallower water but right out in the middle of the 
river. 

It was hoped that the sight of the other horses would 

224 



ON CANADIAN TORRENTS 

tempt the two to come out of the water, and one of them, 
Bucephalus by name, at length started to swim towards 
the shore. Then the other horse, well named " The Fool," 
began to go down stream once more. Bucephalus hesitated 
a moment, and then followed his unwise companion, and 
soon the pair were being borne off at incredible speed. 
It was quite impossible for the pursuers to keep up with 
the animals, or even to keep them in sight. Then the 
Assiniboine quickly drew away from the rest of the men, 
covering the ground at an astonishing speed. The others, 
far behind, caught an occasional glimpse of the horses, 
which in the distance appeared like mere specks on the 
surface of the foaming floods. The excitement grew more 
intense every moment. 

A couple of miles lower down the river a shallow 
occurred again, and this enabled the frightened beasts 
to rest for a trifling space, and the Assiniboine to come 
up to the spot. Soon the poor horses were carried off 
their feet once more. Now Bucephalus, noting the presence 
of the Indian on the bank attempted to reach him. At 
this point the current was frightfully rapid, and it was 
impossible for the animal to stay his course for a second. 
However, his movements having brought him nearer the 
bank, the Assiniboine made a plucky dash into the boiling 
rapids, and succeeded in throwing his arms round the 
neck of the terrified Bucephalus. With a neigh of grati- 
tude the horse responded to the efforts of the man, and 
each supporting the other, the two at last struggled to 
shore. " The escape of the Assiniboine seemed marvellous," 
say the explorers, " and we did not fail amply to reward 

him for the intrepidity he had displayed. Few men 
15 225 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

would have dared to plunge into such a boiling torrent, 
and as we looked at the huge rolling waves after it was 
over, we could hardly believe it possible that the thing 
had in reality occurred." 

Quickly spreading out to dry all the saturated baggage 
carried by Bucephalus, the men dashed after his unfortunate 
companion, The Fool. A mile lower down the animal was 
found, but he was under the steep opposite shore. The 
horse's head was in the thick of the bushes, but the bank 
was too abrupt to admit of his escaping from the water 
at that place. Meanwhile the rush of the torrent was 
making it almost impossible for him to keep his feet. 
To attempt to cross the river in any fashion would have 
been simple suicide, and the Englishmen were obliged to 
leave the poor brute to his fate. 

One of the Indians now started off at full speed for 
a native settlement he knew of, and which he thought 
would not be more than seven miles or so away. Next 
morning the man returned, with two others from the 
settlement, bringing with them canoes, with which they 
managed to cross the river. The three went at once to 
the spot where The Fool had last been seen, when it was 
found that the animal had made a desperate fight for 
life. He had evidently made frantic efforts to get up 
the steep bank, but had at last slipped, rolled over, and 
down into the raging torrent. Not a trace of the poor 
beast was ever found. 

The misfortune to the explorers was a more serious 

one than might appear at first sight. The Fool had 

carried the company's entire stock of tea, salt, and tobacco, 

so that for the rest of the long journey the party would 

226 



ON CANADIAN TORRENTS 

have to do without those adjuncts to their meals. Then, 
again, all the matches and powder were lost, except the 
small quantity the men had about their persons. Of 
clothing, too, a good deal had gone. Many papers, letters 
of credit, and other valuable things of that sort had been 
swept away, as well as watches, instruments of various 
kinds, and Dr. Cheadle's collection of plants. On the 
other hand, none of the actual necessaries of life had been 
taken, and no human life had been lost. Lastly, the 
explorers' journals had been saved with Bucephalus, a 
fortunate thing for the world, since without them their 
fascinating book could never have been written. 

Note. — From TJie North- West Passage by Land, by Viscount Milton and 
Dr. Cheadle (Cassell). The author hereby acknowledges with 
grateful thanks the permission accorded in such kindly terms 
by Dr. Cheadle. 



227 



XX 

STIRRING SCENES ON THE IRRAWADY 

Mr. Gouger prepares to sail up the Irrawady to Ava — A Buddhist priest 
" blown up" at Rangoon — Visit to dropping-well — Shivering fits and 
fevers — Death of one of the party — A black servant drowned — Alli- 
gator story — Ava reached — Successful trading — War breaks out 
between Britain and Burmah — Review of Burmese army — Water 
manoeuvres — Serious position of Englishmen in Burmah — Gouger 
thrown into prison — Long and terrible imprisonment — Taken from 
prison and carried down the river in a Burmese war-boat — Boat stop- 
ped by a beaten Burmese general — Allowed to proceed — A British flotilla 
seen in the distance — Burmese boat brought up by a warning shot — 
Gouger rescued and sent on to the steamer Diana — Fright of the 
Burmese crew at the sight of the steamer — Peace signed — Unex- 
pected attack from the river bank — Boat's crew go in chase — A final 
capture, a splendid Burmese war-boat. 

" Most nations have undergone great changes during the 
last forty years, and the Burmese seem to have kept pace 
with them." Thus wrote Mr. H. Gouger in the year 
1860, and if his remark was true then how much more is 
it so in our own days. But what the country of Burmah 
was like in the early part of the last century his account 
of his own experiences and adventures there well shows. 
He had already made one journey to the capital of the 
country, and had seen with quick and discerning eye what 
enormous profits might be realized as the result of intelli- 
gent trading with that far-off semi-barbarous country. 
We meet with him at Rangoon, preparing to make his 

228 



SCENES ON THE IRRAWADY 

long voyage up the broad Irrawady to Ava and the 
interior. He had three boats, one of which was put in 
charge of his companion and friend, Mr. Richardson. 
Then a Mr. Stockdale, who had his own boat, joined the 
expedition for a distance. 

A curious incident delayed the embarkation for a short 
time. The people of Rangoon, in festive attire, were 
streaming out of the town, and Mr. Gouger followed in 
their train. He found that the object of the sight-seers 
was to witness the ceremony of blowing up a Buddhist 
priest who had just died. He was considered to be a 
specially holy man, and worthy of special funeral honours. 
The corpse was lying in a small pagoda-like shed, in which 
was a quantity of powder, and such like. At this were 
fired, from a distance of a hundred yards or more, a num- 
ber of rockets. The rockets were on wheels, strange to 
say. The marksmanship of the funeral party was indif- 
ferent, and one after another the rockets were fired with- 
out effect. The danger, indeed, was not to the shed, but 
to the crowds that surrounded it on all sides. In the end 
a rope had to be stretched along as a guide to the projec- 
tile, and then the company were rewarded by a grand 
explosion, which blew the pagoda and its contents to 
fragments. 

Very pleasant was the ascent of the river at first. Each 
of the travellers had his own boat, in which he could re- 
cline at his ease, merely keeping an eye on his steersman. 
But this happy state of things was destined to end all too 
quickly and sadly. A day or two's journey above Prome 

the travellers stopped to pay a visit to a beautiful drop- 

229 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

ping-well, which lay somewhat less than a mile from the 
bank of the river. The path led through the tall grass of 
the jungle, towering feet above the heads of the men. 
The guide for the occasion was one of the boatmen. The 
day was frightfully hot, and the jungle was steaming with 
moisture from the recent rains, and swarming with 
insects. That the place was reported to be infested with 
tigers did not tend to make the travellers feel happier. 
What the report did do, was to make the party hurry 
along, and the result was that they reached the dropping- 
well thoroughly tired out and bathed in perspiration. To 
drink of the icy water was under the circumstances the 
most natural thing to do ; it was also the most fatal. 
Though the men beat a hasty retreat the moment they 
felt a chill, the mischief was done. Mr. Gouger and Mr. 
Stockdale were seized with shivering fits, and soon fever 
supervened. The former swallowed a glass of brandy, and 
this it was, doubtless, that saved him. As for Mr. Stock- 
dale, he grew worse and worse, and died just as the voyage 
was nearing its end. 

Another misfortune came presently to the party of 
travellers. One of the servants wishing to land, did not 
wait till the boat had touched shore, but sprang while it 
was yet a few feet away. He fell into the water, but as 
he was known to be a good swimmer his companions were 
in no particular hurry to rush to his aid. To the surprise 
of all, the force of the current swept the poor fellow at 
once into deep water and away down-stream. He made a 
brave struggle for life, but before the boats could come up 

with him he had sunk for the last time. 

230 



SCENES ON THE IRKAWADY 

And not long after this melancholy event the leader of 
the expedition himself came near to losing his life. He 
was taking a walk one evening by the river-side, when his 
progress was stopped by a small tributary stream. He 
threw off his clothes and plunged in, nothing doubting his 
powers as a swimmer. He soon found he had miscalcu- 
lated the strength of the current, which carried him off 
his feet. He had a tough struggle, but succeeded in 
reaching the other bank. There he sat awhile to recover 
from his severe exertions, and to reflect that he must 
attempt the passage again, or remain for a long time 
without clothes. The return passage proved almost too 
much for the swimmer. 

" Bathing in the rivers of India is at all times a hazard- 
ous and foolish practice," writes Mr. Gouger, " especially 
in the Irrawady, which is teeming with alligators of huge 
size and terrible voracity. ... I have seen them at times 
basking on the rushy bank, apparently asleep, with their 
horrid jaws wide open, and distended almost to a right 
angle. The natives say that while they are indulging in 
this way, their pestiferous breath attracts the swarms of 
flies and insects abounding on such sedgy banks, and that 
when their mouths are well lined with them a single snap 
secures the prey." Though Mr. Gouger did not on this 
particular voyage meet with any mishap from the alliga- 
tors, he heard, when he reached Ava, a terrible story of 
the death of one of the servants of a missionary expedition. 
This man, while standing in the water near the bank of 
the river, was seized by a huge alligator, which, making its 
appearance without the least noise, disappeared with its 

231 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

victim under water just as quietly. The horrifying part 
of the story was that the next minute the beast suddenly 
elevated its body several feet above the water, the man 
still held in the jaws by his middle. Instantly the alli- 
gator brought down the body with tremendous force upon 
the surface of the water, thereby no doubt breaking it up 
more easily. All this took place close to the boat in 
which were the horror-struck companions of the poor 
fellow. 

It was not till after an unusually long journey of seven 
weeks — due to the swollen and rapid downward cur- 
rent of the river — that the Englishman reached Ava, the 
Burmese capital, which he now visited for the second 
time, after an absence of about a year. He was presently 
received in audience by the Burmese king, whom he had 
seen on many occasions during his former sojourn in 
the capital. The trading prospects proved good, indeed 
excellent, and it was soon apparent to the Englishmen 
that, given a year or two of peace and prosperity, they 
would be able to return home rich men. 

But a cloud appeared on the horizon. Rumours of a 

disagreement between the British Government and Bur- 

mah began to be heard, and it was soon evident that a 

war with Britain would be much to the liking of the 

Burmese. The clouds gathered and' thickened rapidly, 

and presently Mr. Gouger could no longer conceal from 

himself the fact that in the event of hostilities breaking 

out, not only would his trading be ruined, but the lives of 

himself and his companions would be in the greatest 

jeopardy. There were but a very few Europeans in Ava, 

232 




The Burmese propelled their Boats by beating the air 
with their Paddles 

The feats of skill on water and the extraordinary boat-manceuvres in the presence ot 
the old Burmese kings were amongst the most wonderful ever witnessed. 



SCENES ON THE IRRAWADY 

the merest handful, but the natives were not likely to 
leave them long alive, when once the war had broken out. 
Preparations began by a muster of troops, and Mr. Gouger 
saw the whole spectacle from his house by the river bank. 
Some six thousand picked troops were to cross the river, 
and for this purpose a fleet of splendid boats was in readi- 
ness. The men were all gaily dressed, and there was a 
profusion of flags and plenty of military music. The writer 
thus graphically describes the scene : 

" Chiefs took their seats at the prows of their boats (the 
post of honour, as the stern is with us), and in the middle of 
each boat a soldier, selected for his skill, danced a kind of 
hornpipe. When all was ready, the whole fleet, lining the 
bank for a considerable distance, dashed all at once across 
the river, nearly a mile wide ; the loud song bursting from 
six thousand lusty throats, while the stroke from thousands 
of oars and paddles kept time to their music. It was an 
exciting spectacle, on which, but for certain misgivings of 
its purport, I should have looked with delight." 

The series of manoeuvres that took place on the river, 

in the presence of the Burmese king and his court, was a 

revelation to the Englishmen. A full account of them 

would fill pages. Every kind of exercise possible on water 

was carried on with astonishing skill ; races were run at 

incredible speeds ; fleets of boats or canoes swept hither 

and thither in graceful but most intricate mazes ; and all 

without a mistake or an accident occurring. One of the 

most wonderful of the feats was the propelling forward of 

the boats by the beating of the paddles, not against the 

water, but against the air. To perform this feat the crew 

233 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

stood upright in the boat and waved lustily a specially- 
long kind of paddle. The most beautiful of the perform- 
ances, the Englishman declares to have been that of a par- 
ticularly powerful crew who urged their boat at full speed 
past the Water Palace, then suddenly the craft was hidden 
in a splendid shower of glittering spray, the whole thrown 
up by the cleverness of the men at the oars. The spray 
was just of the kind seen about a cataract, and the boat 
seemed to be ever disappearing in a perfect atmosphere 
of it. 

Picturesque as all this was, it was but too plainly the 
preliminary to war, and consequently to imminent danger 
for all Europeans who might be unfortunate enough to find 
themselves in Burmese clutches. Gouger soon saw how 
matters were turning. A charge of stealing some of Mr. 
Stockdale's money was trumped up against him, and 
it was only by a heavy bribe that he got himself clear of 
entanglements on this account. So bad did the outlook 
appear, indeed, that it became a question whether the 
Englishmen should not flee while there was yet time. But 
there was a large amount of property to be left behind, 
and one of them ought to stay to watch over it. At 
length Mr. Richardson, after much urging on the part of 
his friend, was induced to make his escape, and he was 
smuggled out of the place, as it might have been dangerous 
to ask permission to leave. A small but fast boat carried 
him in safety to Rangoon. 

One Sunday morning Mr. Gouger paddled across the 

Irrawady to attend service at the missionary settlement, 

as was his wont. The worship was interrupted by the 

234 



SCENES ON THE IRRAWADY 

hasty entrance of a man with the terrible tidings that war 
had actually begun between Britain and Burmah, and that 
a British fleet had bombarded and taken Rangoon, the 
inhabitants of which had fled. A more appalling announce- 
ment for the Englishman could hardly have been made. 
The missionaries were Americans and had less to fear. 

Mr. Gouger's account of his imprisonment in Ava, 
though one of the most thrilling of narratives, must not 
be dwelt upon here. For months his life was in extreme 
danger ; every kind of hardship was endured ; times out of 
count he was within an inch of death's door, so to speak, 
yet he came at last safely through, after incredible suffer- 
ing, bodily and mental. It seemed nothing less than 
miraculous when one day he was dragged from his prison 
by a ruffianly set, and carried on board a Burmese man-of- 
war on the Irrawady. There he found a British officer, 
who had been taken prisoner. Fifty strong fellows at the 
oars caused the boat to fly like an arrow down-stream. It 
was inexpressibly delightful to watch the leaping vessel, 
every stroke of the oars carrying the tortured Englishman 
nearer to his friends, as he fondly trusted. 

At three o'clock in the morning a loud shout from the 
bank startled the prisoner, for such Mr. Gouger still was, 
and the boat was brought to by the shore. What was his 
dismay when he found himself in the power of a detach- 
ment of the Burmese army, a detachment that had just 
suffered defeat at the hands of the British. The English- 
man was landed and carried at once to the quarters of the 
commander, hard by the bank of the Irrawady. It was 

an ominous interruption, and might mean a renewal of 

235 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

imprisonment, or worse. The men encamped by the bank 
were in a most miserable plight ; they had no shelter, few 
comforts, little food, having had to make a precipitate 
flight. For an hour the fate of the merchant hung on a 
thread, but at last, to his intense joy, the commander 
allowed him to proceed. 

The sun was just rising as Gouger again took his place 
in the war-boat. It was intensely cold, but he did not 
notice it in the joy he felt at having got out of the hands 
of the beaten crowd he had just left. And presently he 
was suffering from the other extreme of temperature ; the 
heat was almost unendurable. All day long the boatmen 
kept on their course down the broad river, the power of 
the sun almost driving their prisoner mad. Ever he was 
on the look-out for some sign of the near presence of 
British forces, but hour after hour the vessel sped on 
without any such sign being seen. It seemed unaccount- 
able that the beaten Burmese army could have fled so far 
from their British antagonists. But the fact was the river 
pursued a very winding course, so that, as he afterwards 
learnt, the actual distance in a direct line was not so great. 
At every bend the Burmese sailors anxiously surveyed the 
new reach that presented itself to their gaze. It was 
evident they were on the alert. 

At last, about four in the afternoon, some of the fellows 

perceived a number of vessels in the distance. Though 

these were yet miles away, at the extreme end of a very 

long straight reach, they were declared to be foreign boats. 

Mr. Gouger heard this with a feeling of stupefaction, if 

indeed in his miserable and dazed condition he had any 

236 



SCENES ON THE IRRAWADY 

feeling left at all. But every stroke of the oars was bring- 
ing him nearer sweet liberty. Yet could he after all 
escape with his life ? Would no untoward accident — what 
a number of such he had already met ! — snatch his freedom 
from him at the very last hour ? 

Presently one of the flotilla of British boats advanced to 
meet the Burmese man-of-war, and soon a gun was fired 
in its direction. The sound sent the sailors into a fit of 
terror; they did not understand the salutation. They 
prepared to turn in flight. It was a critical and an agoniz- 
ing moment for the lost Englishman. With all his powers 
he persuaded the men to keep on to meet the British 
boat, assuring them that all would be well. It was evident 
the fellows expected to be blown to atoms by the enemy's 
guns, but they continued their course. " I am free ! " was 
Mr. Gouger's one thought, as he came alongside the British 
craft. It was a strange and a wonderful escape. 

The vessel proved to be H.M.S. Alligator, and the offi- 
cer in command was astounded to see a lost and miserable 
countryman of his own sink on the deck before him with 
uplifted, supplicating hands. Probably he thought the 
man out of his wits, as indeed Gouger in a manner must 
have been. The Englishman's story was told to the kindly 
officer, who at once gave his orders. The command was 
to the Burmese to take their quondam prisoner on board 
once more, and to carry him down the river till they came 
to a steamer, the Diana. Hardly anything could have 
alarmed the fellows more. A steamboat was a new thing, 
inspiring the utmost terror amongst the natives of that 
part of the world. The crew of the Burman boat begged 

237 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

and prayed to be delivered from the necessity of going to 
the dreaded monster. It was all in vain, and they had to 
go. " Never did timid bird approach its fascinating enemy 
with more fluttering alarm, nor with less chance of escape, 
than did the Captain of my war-boat, this work of Enchant- 
ment." 

General Sir A. Campbell took the Englishman in his 
boat with him to Rangoon, the kindness he received from 
everybody doing much to restore him to health and 
strength. Peace had been signed, yet an experience on 
the passage down the river serves to show how little that 
may go for in a barbarous and hostile country. The 
General's boat was rowed by a crew of twenty men. One 
evening, after Prome had been passed, while the occupants 
were seated at supper on the deck, a hail of bullets 
suddenly poured in from the bank ; luckily they were 
aimed too high and passed harmlessly over the heads of 
the party. For two or three minutes this fusillade was 
kept up, but the enemy were entirely concealed by the 
long grass with which the bank of the Irrawady was lined. 
It would have been easy enough to get out of the way 
of the bullets, for the river is a mile wide at that place. 
But Campbell's blood was up, and he gave the order 
to steer right for the spot whence came the attack. 

The old soldier did more ; he actually donned his cocked 
hat, thus presenting a splendid mark for the assailants, 
themselves unseen. With the General on deck were his 
son and Gouger. The whole thing seemed a trifle fool- 
hardy, and the merchant could not be blamed if he hid 

behind the palanquin. The boat carried a twelve-pounder 

238 



SCENES ON THE IRRAWADY 

at the bow, and Campbell at once treated the invisible 
enemy to a round or two of grape. Catching sight of 
Gouger behind his screen, the General rallied him on the 
strength of the material — leather — on which he was relying 
for protection from the bullets. 

As soon as the vessel touched the bank the whole of the 
men sprang out, each armed with a formidable boarding- 
pike. Then a line was formed, Gouger taking his place 
with the rest, and a dashing charge was made. What the 
number of the enemy might be the Britishers did not stop 
to consider. Through the long jungle grass the gallant 
fellows rushed, the assailants retiring before them. This 
continued for several hundreds of yards, till the jungle 
came to an end. The pursuers were just in time to see a 
considerable body of men making good their escape across 
a small creek, the entrance to which from the river had 
been hidden by the long tangled growth about it. The 
chase became hot, and it had its reward. A fine war-boat 
was discovered, hidden amongst the tall rush-brake ; it 
formed a fitting last prize. As for its Burmese crew they 
fled pell-mell and disappeared. This interesting trophy of 
his victory the General carried with him to Rangoon. 



239 



XXI 

BIG GAME IN SOUTH AFRICA 

Mr. Francis Galton in Damaraland — A prowling lion — Lost in the thicket 
— Another night visit — Grand hunt organized and the lion killed — 
Hyena and lion attack horses and mules — Another hunt — Narrow 
escape of Galton — His marvellous coolness — Big game plentiful but 
shy — An empty larder — Giraffe sighted — Long stalk along bed of 
river — Giraffe at bay — Horse frightened — Hunter follows the chase on 
foot — Giraffe killed — Larder replenished —Frightful thunderstorm — 
Man killed — Baiting with an old woman — Hyena killed — Bare legs 
and thorns — Hyena killed in moonlight — A lively bit of work — 
Koodoo or lion ? — A great fright — Splendid black lion — Most critical 
situation for the traveller — Lion beats retreat. 

The district of Damaraland, beyond the boundaries of the 

Cape Colony regions, on the west coast of South Africa, may 

be looked upon as almost a riverless country by one who 

gives but a cursory glance at the map. As a matter of 

fact, however, it abounds in streams, all of them flowing 

freely enough during the rainy season, and some of them, 

such as the Swakop, being at all times considerable rivers, 

and great rivers in times of flood. In the dry season, it 

is true, the courses of many of the streams become mere 

dry river-beds, or, if there is any water left in them at all, 

it is the poorest trickle, or a series of stagnant pools. It 

was in this region that Mr. afterwards Sir Francis Galton 

travelled, now more than fifty years ago. His many 

240 



BIG GAI\1E IN SOUTH AFRICA 

adventures are well described in his own narrative. A 
few of them may well be retold here. 

He was staying at a missionary station on an island in 
the middle of the river Kuisip at a time when the settle- 
ment was troubled by the unwelcome visits of a lion. 
For some days the beast had been prowling about, as was 
evident from his tracks. Mr. Galton lay awake in bed for 
some time listening for the roar of the lion, but in time 
dropped off to sleep. In the morning, however, it was 
clear that the beast had again been on the prowl, and it 
was determined to endeavour to track him. The mis- 
sionary went with Mr. Galton, who took also two of his 
own servants and a few natives. The animals the party 
rode were oxen, this not much to the traveller's liking. 
The lion's tracks were so numerous that it was some time 
before the men could get on his trail. At last they found 
a spot where the brute had been lying only a few minutes 
before, as was evident from the warm state of the sand. 

Caution was now necessary ; the beast might be close at 
hand. As a matter of fact he was, and suddenly he rose 
not a dozen paces away. Before the party could get their 
guns to their shoulders he had quietly but swiftly dis- 
appeared. It was perhaps as well that he did so, for the 
men were so mixed up and so unprepared for an immediate 
attack, that, had he sprung upon the hunters, it would 
have been a serious matter for some of them. To their 
disgust they were obliged to return without the lion's 
skin, the thicket into which the animal had gone being 
too dense to admit of his being followed. But that night 
the brute was about the settlement by the river once 
more. 

16 241 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

A grand hunt was now organized, and next morning the 
whole force of the station set off, some on horseback, the 
missionary, as usual, on his ox, and the blacks on foot. 
For eight miles the trail was followed, right into a bit of 
thick bush. Here stones were thrown to dislodge him, 
and at once the beast made his appearance some hundred 
yards or so away. Mr. Galton did not fire, his horse not 
being accustomed to that sort of thing ; nor did any of 
the rest shoot, reserving their fire till they should be able 
to get a nearer and more favourable shot. A halloo was 
set up and a scamper after the lion began. The men did 
their best to keep the game in view, but the bushes were 
in the way, and several times he was lost sight of alto- 
gether. Indeed, but for the help of some Hottentots, the 
animal would have made good his escape. It was hours 
before the party came within shot. The lion was trotting 
along, sixty yards ahead, and Mr. Galton at once took aim, 
trusting that his horse would not shy and throw him. 
The shot took effect, and the lion bit the wound. As for 
the horse, he was too tired to make much of a demonstra- 
tion. The lion now turned to bay at the foot of a little 
sand-hill. Dismounting, Mr. Galton and others circum- 
vented him, climbing to the top of the hill, right above 
him, while the attendants closed in round. The 
animal was madly enraged, and had he come to close 
quarters he would have been an ugly customer. A lucky 
shot from one of the hunters brought the beast to the 
ground dead. One of the dogs was found in his stomach. 

Another lion adventure came to the distinguished tra- 
veller very shortly afterwards. This was in the delightful 

valley of the Swakop, where there were known to be vast 

242 




The Lion was at bay 

The African lion is often an ugly customer, as Mr. Galton, the famous scientist-explorer found. 
Nothing but a lucky shot saved his life on this occasion. 



BIG GAME IN SOUTH AFRICA 

quantities of- game. The party were charmed with the 
magnificent Swakop gorge, with its bordering heights 
towering a thousand feet above the bed of the river. A 
good bathe in the cool water was not the least of the 
pleasures of the stay in this happy valley. But presently 
the hunters had an unpleasant experience. One morning 
a mule-driver who had been sent to look after the animals 
returned in a terrible state of panic, and with alarming 
news. He had found one of the mules dead, and a hyena 
eating the carcass, while not far away lay the dead body 
of the biggest of the horses, with a lion in possession. 
The man had also observed the tracks of a number of mules ; 
the animals had evidently been in full flight, and along 
with the tracks they had made appeared those of several 
lions. Of course Mr. Galton and his companions set off 
instantly to the spot, and soon found the body of the mule 
in the river-bed. Near the carcass of the horse the tracks 
of no fewer than six lions were observed. As the party 
was getting very short of animal food a quantity of flesh 
was taken from the mule and the horse, and carried to the 
top of the cliff to be out of the way of the wild beasts. 

All the day the hunters searched for the lions, but in 
vam. At nightfall, however, the brutes would return. 
When twilight had come on, the men from their post of 
observation could see several animals in the valley below ; 
these they took to be deer. But the Swakop valley was 
in deep shadow, so that it was impossible at the distance 
to distinguish clearly. Later on it was discovered that 
the supposed deer were lions. Mr. Galton and one or two 
of his companions went down to the river to reconnoitre, 
and to fetch up the last joints from the horse and mule. 

243 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

As Mr. Galton was tugging at his load of meat a man 
suddenly cried, " Good God, sir, the lion's above you ! " a 
shout that made the explorer's flesh creep. With the 
most astonishing coolness, however, he stuck to the meat, 
walking steadily on, looking frequently over his shoulder 
as he marched. When he came to the place where his 
men stood, he could see what they had before seen, but which 
till now had been hidden from his eyes. There, on the 
top of the ledge under which he had been walking, stood 
the lion, his ears pricked up, and his gaze fixed upon him. 
The risk the hunter had run had been great. The mis- 
sionary brought his gun to bear, but the shot was too low, 
merely splintering the rock at the animal's feet. It was 
in reality too dark for a good aim, and the lion got away. 

A somewhat heavy time for the travellers came on. 
The weather was overpoweringly hot ; they were knocked 
up and out of condition ; food ran short. During the day 
it was found wiser to travel a good deal in the dry beds of 
the rivers, and at night they camped near water-holes in 
the same sandy beds. Every night lions were on the 
prowl, and it was necessary to fire the long, dry grass 
around. The grass made fine bonfires, which not only 
kept off the numerous wild beasts, but later on improved 
the herbage. Rhinoceros tracks were seen. The ther- 
mometer registered a temperature of 95° in the shade, 
and 143° in the sun. The least cut or scratch on their 
bodies the travellers found to fester at once, and to be 
long in healing. Such are some of the discomforts of 
travelling in that region. 

The larder was actually empty, when luckily the spoor 

— quite fresh — of a giraffe was found. Whether to go 

244 



BIG GAME IN SOUTH AFRICA 

after the animal Mr. Galton did not know, as he was weak 
and ailing and his horse was in very bad condition. How- 
ever, he followed the giraffe in spite of everything. It 
was in the bed of the Tsobis river, a vale hemmed in by 
towering and unscalable cliffs. He knew, therefore, that 
the animal would be unable to get far out of the way. 
The course of the river was followed for some miles, the 
hunter keeping a couple of miles in front of his party. 
At length he espied his giraffe under a tree. Taking ad- 
vantage of what cover there was, Mr. Galton pushed on his 
horse at full speed. He got within a hundred yards of 
the animal before it observed him ; then off like the wind 
it flew, followed hard by the pursuer. The horse was at 
a disadvantage, the bush being a sore trouble to it, 
whereas to the giraffe it gave no inconvenience at all 
apparently. Seeing that he was scarcely gaining ground, 
the hunter tried a shot, which struck the animal in the 
quarter. The odds now seemed likely to be all in favour 
of the horse, but the poor beast was sadly blown, and the 
bushes were worse than ever. A second shot, at a distance 
of thirty yards, had no effect on the giraffe ; doubtless the 
bullet flew wide of it altogether. 

The chase was becoming exciting. By this time the 
pursuer had come up abreast of his quarry, and tried to 
get in front and head the animal back. As luck would 
have it, just then a watercourse intervened. The horse, 
if it had been fresh, would have jumped the obstruction 
readily enough, but in its present distressed state it fell 
short, and breasted the bank. Somehow or other the 
hunter got his mount over and into speed again. At last 

he was forty yards ahead, and, turning, faced the giraffe. 

245 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

The beast did not stop her course, strange to say, but 
came on at the assailant viciously. The man waited 
almost too long, then fired, the ball striking the nostril. 
The wounded beast staggered, turned, and retreated, 
presently coming to rest under a tree. But by this time 
the horse was too frightened to be any longer available, 
and the sportsman got down and advanced on foot. It 
went to the hunter's heart as he saw the look in the eyes 
of his unhappy victim, but necessity knows no law, and 
with another shot the matter was ended. So grand an 
accession of food to hungry men caused infinite rejoicing 
among the party. It was indeed high time for a re- 
plenishing of the larder. 

A most violent thunderstorm broke over the Swakop 
district, after a long drought, and the river was soon in 
high flood, the water rushing along in vast volumes and 
with great turbulence. The lightning was practically 
continuous, so much so that Mr. Galton was able to read 
a newspaper without stopping, noting enough words at 
one flash to carry him on till the next. Ever a man of 
science, he observed, too, that he was able to see the 
colours of the flowers growing near, a very rare thing in 
the case of lightning. A negro was killed by one of the 
flashes. Mr. Galton observed four men running; after 
the flash there were but three. The change in the dead 
negro's features was very slight, he remarked. 

The travellers had recently been entertained with a 

tale of a man's nose having been bitten off by a hyena, 

while the man was lying on his back asleep, and this story 

was much ridiculed. Strangely enough, an incident 

occurred at that very same missionary station on the 

246 



BIG GAME IN SOUTH AFRICA 

Swakop, which seemed to argue that the story might be 
literally true. An old negress was sleeping near a fire, 
under a rough erection, her feet stretching away into the 
darkness beyond. Suddenly a hyena prowling about 
seized one of the feet and dragged the old woman bodily 
out of the rude hut or tent that sheltered the greater 
part of her person. Her yells frightened the animal, and 
the woman got off with nothing worse than a wounded 
foot. Next night Mr. Galton and a companion sat up to 
watch for the hyena. The former hid behind the hut, 
while his friend watched from near a side path. The old 
woman was induced to sleep in the hut as before, to act 
as a bait. To the hunters the notion of baiting with an 
old woman seemed a good joke ; the old lady herself was 
frightened almost out of her wits at the situation. The 
hyena came duly to carry to a conclusion his last night's 
project, and the watcher in the side path put a speedy 
finish to his plans. 

But other hyenas troubled the settlement ; they were 
in truth too numerous, and inconceivably bold. Many 
attempts to get at them were made, but for long without 
result. At last the dogs managed to start one in the 
night-time and held him at bay. The men were all asleep 
on the other side of the Swakop, which at that point had 
a width of three hundred yards. Mr. Galton sprang out 
of bed, and, undressed as he was, went off helter-skelter. 
He stumbled along in the moonlight, the sharp thorns 
doing grievous damage to his bare legs. But so great 
was the excitement of the moment that he kept on his 

course. When he reached the spot where the dogs were, 

247 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

he found that the hyena had dropped back into the deep 
shade of the thorns and rocks. The hunter would have 
given much for his stout leather trousers at that moment. 
He could not see the brute till, the dogs setting him up, 
he actually brushed past Mr. Galton's naked legs. In the 
course of time the dogs got the game out into a bit of 
bright moonlight, not more than four or five feet away 
from him. So good an opportunity was not lost ; and a 
bullet broke the hyena's backbone. Altogether a lively 
piece of work, the sportsman remarks. 

At a later stage of his travels, on the river Omoramba, 
Mr. Galton had an unusual experience. He was saunter- 
ing about, his rifle loaded with the merest pinch of powder 
and a round ball, the game being scarce. Presently he 
spied an animal at a distance, which he took to be a 
koodoo. To drop to the ground and begin the stalking of 
the koodoo was the work of a moment. Unluckily the 
intervening space was filled with abominable thorns, and 
the sportsman's person suffered in consequence. For all 
that, he crept on hands and knees till he gained a position 
within fifty yards of the animal. Then stealthily rising 
he put his rifle between the bushes and prepared to shoot. 
What was his horror to find that the game was no koodoo, 
but a magnificent black lion ! There the animal stood on 
a little mound, his eyes looking straight at the hunter. 
And the hunter was practically unarmed ! The intrepid 
coolness of the man doubtless saved his life. He showed 
himself fully to the beast, and then turning round walked 
calmly away. As he himself says, he was in an awful 

fright; he was sure the animal must be hungry, the 

248 



BIG GAME IN SOUTH AFRICA 

quantity of game about being so small. However, the 
lion watched the man till he had retreated a score or two 
of yards ; then he trotted off. As Mr. Galton remarks, 
the lion was " certainly as much astonished as myself, for 
unless he was a great traveller he could never before have 
seen a white man or one dressed in clothes." 

Note. — From Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa (Ward, 
Lock and Co.), by kind, permission of Mr. Francis Galton 
F.R.S. 



249 



XXII 

ON THE WINDINGS OF THE SAN JUAN 

Major Kickard reaches the valley of the San Juan— River forded — Alarm 
in the night— Pumas attack mules — A fierce fight — Two pumas killed 
— Two mules also — The windings of the river — The Major tries a short 
cut — Steep and risky path — No sign of habitation — Darkness comes 
on — A wall of rock with a cleft in it — A tramp of three hours — Back 
at the cleft — A salt marsh — Make a fire and camp for night — No fresh 
water — A farm and breakfast — The San Juan river once more — 
Frequent crossings again— The Major thrown from his mule into the 
flood — Saved by the mule's tail — Arrival at the town of San Juan. 

Amongst the pioneers of exploration many members of 
the engineering and surveying professions hold honour- 
able rank. Indeed, as various chapters of the present 
volume show, they have often played a notable part in 
such expeditions. And their scientific acquirements, 
their habits of observation, and their life-long familiarity 
with out-door occupations, make these gentlemen specially 
valuable travellers and explorers, more particularly when, 
as is generally the case, they possess also a keen love of 
sport and adventure. 

Amongst these engineer explorers, Major Rickard, 
Government Inspector of Mines for the Argentine Re- 
public, occupies a worthy place. He was sent out to 
inspect the newly-discovered silver-mines of San Juan, 

away amongst the eastern slopes of the great Andes range, 

250 



WINDINGS OF THE SAN JUAN 

and during his journeyings he crossed the entire breadth 
of the continent, from Valparaiso on the Pacific to the 
city of Buenos Ayres. 

The major had reached the wide Barrial valley, through 
which runs the river San Juan. Along the course of this 
stream his route lay for a time, and he thought it well to 
employ a guide. The San Juan winds to such an extent 
that it was necessary to cross it many times. The 
engineer borrowed a tall horse to help him in his fordings 
of the deep stream ; his mule, as he soon found, being 
unsuitable for the purpose, unless the rider were prepared 
for a soaking at each fording. Well provided with food, 
the major and his men left Calingasta for the town of San 
Juan, which latter place they trusted to reach in a couple 
of days. Almost at once the river had to be forded, 
and while the master on his big steed was in good case, 
the adventures of his men on their mules caused no 
little merriment, though there was a certain amount of 
danger attending the passage. The current, as is generally 
the case with mountain torrents, was very rapid, and it 
was all the animals could do to prevent themselves from 
being swept bodily away, with their riders on their 
backs. 

A good place for the camp was found in the evening, 

and after supper the men turned in, with the exception 

of two, who were sent to a little distance to watch over 

the animals grazing. The major himself preferred sleeping 

in the open air. During the night the camp was alarmed 

by a loud shout from one of the sentinels, and the report 

of a gun. Instantly every man sprang up and seized his 

rifle, not knowing what to expect, but fearing that it 

251 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

might be an attack from the Indians, though they were 
not thought to be in the neighbourhood at all. 

On being asked what was the matter, the sentinel shouted 
that a large puma, or so-called " lion," had startled him. 
The animal had, however, made off, and the man apologized 
for disturbing his master without due cause. A search 
was set up, but no trace of the puma being seen, the 
party were about to turn in once more, when it occurred 
to the leader that the mules might be in danger. A yell 
from a distant part of the valley showed that the surmise 
was correct. The major bolted off at full speed towards 
the sound, leaving some of his men to guard the camp, 
but taking with him the rest. 

The party came up just as a furious fight was going on 
between a couple of pumas and two of the mules. The 
other mules in their alarm had stampeded and were no- 
where to be seen. The fellows who had been left in charge 
of the pasture ground were striving in vain to separate 
the struggling beasts, or to frighten the pumas. Yet the 
men were so alarmed themselves that they dared not go 
nearer than twenty or thirty yards from them, and at 
such a distance a shot from an indifferent marksman 
might have been more fatal to the mules than to the 
pumas. It was seen at once by the new-comers that it 
would be impossible to save the poor beasts, for they were 
far gone already. But the major was determined to have 
his revenge, and, coolly advancing to within a few yards, 
took aim at a puma, and with one ball rolled the savage 
brute over. The puma had been struck just below the ear, 
and, quitting his hold of his victim, he dashed about on 

the ground in his agony. With their big knives the men, 

252 



WINDINGS OF THE SAN JUAN 

rushing forward, finished the beast. One of the mules 
died almost at once, the other survived only till the 
morning. The remaining puma had, of course, been 
immediately covered, and that, too, fell a victim to the 
guns of the party. 

The largest of the pumas proved to be a formidable 
fellow, his length being found to be no less than five feet 
to the root of the tail. In the Andes districts it is never 
safe to leave horses and other domestic animals unattended 
and far from camp or settlement. The puma will seldom 
attack a man, but almost every other animal he will 
assail. Oddly enough, however, there is one animal that 
seems well able to match itself against even the dreaded 
puma, namely, the donkey. He, when attacked, holds his 
head well between his legs, and, keeping up a constant 
" bucking," prevents the enemy sticking on his back long 
enough to do serious damage. 

The whole troop of Major Eickard's mules had, needless 
to say, disappeared. Luckily two of the animals were 
caught near the camp fire, and on these a long hunt for 
the rest was made. All the efforts of the party failed to 
bring back some of the lost mules, and five or six had to 
be obtained at a post-house which was reached later on. 
These others were borrowed in the name of the Govern- 
ment, and it is curious to relate that when, later on, the 
animals were returned to the owner, he was even more 
surprised than delighted. He had evidently been little 
accustomed to such honest treatment as that. 

The San Juan was found to be a most troublesome 
stream ; in certain parts of its course it had to be crossed 
every hour or so. It is no wonder, therefore, that when 

253 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the explorers met a party of gauchos presently, and learnt 
from them that there was a shorter cut, through a newly- 
discovered pass, it was determined to leave the bank of 
the river for a time, and strike up to the pass. The 
gauchos declared that by taking this new path the ex- 
pedition would save many leagues of the desperately bad 
road alongside the stream. 

Major Rickard, accompanied by an excellent companion, 
Don Joaquin, the Sub-Inspector of Mines, pushed on in 
front, leaving the others to follow in charge of an officer. 
The path was a tortuous one, and led across a line of 
hills. By half-past four in the afternoon, according to 
the gauchos, a post-house should be reached, where the 
night might be spent. The special informant among 
the fellows grinned broadly as the leader and his friend 
trotted off, but it was not discovered till too late what a 
trick the gaucho had played them. The path, which had 
appeared both short and easy, turned out to<be about the 
stiffest ascent the major had ever made on horseback. 
And the steepness was not the worse feature ; the track 
was a regular zigzag, and, moreover, lay along the very 
edge of the mountain shelf on which they were travelling. 
The top was reached at length, after an arduous ascent. 
The view of the country around was magnificent — where 
the rising mist had not blotted out every feature and 
every sign of the track down. The promised post-house 
was nowhere to be seen. The fog grew denser, and the 
garments of the two men were soon quite wet through. 
To crown all, the darkness fell, and by half-past five it 
was scarce possible to advance at all with safet} T . 

Still the two men kept cautiously on their way down 

254 



WINDINGS OF THE SAN JUAN 

the hill, the darkness and fog all around them, the damp 
cold chilling them through. There was no post-house, 
and no dinner for the travellers, who were becoming 
furiously hungry. Hours passed, and the situation was 
growing serious. Then all at once a dark mass loomed 
up in front. The post-house, of course ! Alas ! it turned 
out to be a wall of rock, and apparently it stopped the 
path completely. But a moment's examination showed 
what appeared to be an immense cleft in the solid rock, 
and that was the only passage forward. The mule would 
on no account enter this dark and alarming fissure, ex- 
hibiting the same sort of hesitation that had more than 
once saved her master's life. 

Getting down from his mount, Major Rickard stepped 
into the huge crack, and began to feel about with his 
sword. The next instant he was lying on his back in 
some soft, wet substance. In his fall he had felt some- 
thing hard in one of his pockets, and this proving to be a 
matchbox, he struck a light. He had stumbled down a 
little rock step of a couple of feet, and was lying on the 
damp sand at the bottom of the crack. The path being 
lighted up by more matches, the mule was now willing to 
enter the cleft, and soon the travellers emerged at the 
farther side, the fissure being only a hundred yards 
long. 

The hungry men were chagrined, but there was no help 

for it, and they plodded on in the darkness, the ground 

now furnishing a better pathway. On and on they went, 

listening hard for any sound that might indicate the 

presence of man. It was now between ten and eleven, 

and yet no sign of an end to this most unfortunate 

255 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

" short cut." The night grew a little lighter, and at 
length a second wall loomed in front. Thank goodness ! 
the station at last. But it was another wall of rock. And 
in the wall was another fissure. A most extraordinary 
country this; two rock walls with two fissures as like 
each other as two peas ! A loud burst of laughter rang 
out on the night air from Don Joaquin, who happened to 
be leading at that moment. Then the travellers found 
that for the last three hours they had described a circle, 
and that here they were back at the same cleft. 

They resolved now to consult their pocket-compass 
more frequently, and plodded on. To attract the attention 
of any person there might be in the neighbourhood, the 
benighted explorers fired off revolvers, whistled, and made 
plenty of din. They trusted, at any rate, to fall in with 
the rest of their own men. All to no purpose, so, wetter 
than ever with the drizzle that had begun, they kept on 
their weary, famished way. At length, at midnight or 
thereabouts, the major's mule stopped, her feet sinking 
deep into the ground. The rider sprang off, and found 
himself in a quagmire, submerged to the height of his 
knees. Don Joaquin was able to escape a like fate, being 
a little in the rear. So thoroughly demoralized had the 
gallant major become by this time, that he expressed his 
determination to spend the remaining fraction of the 
night just where he was, a proposition to which the Sub- 
Inspector moved an amendment, viz. that they should 
seek a drier spot and try to make a fire. 

The two succeeded in finding a little hillock, which, 

though not dry, was a great improvement on the bog. 

Here, in spite of the rain, they managed to get a good 

256 



WINDINGS OF THE SAN JUAN 

blazing fire with the help of some old roots. They settled 
down for the night, making the best of a trifle of stale 
biscuit they had, and a little cognac that remained in the 
flask. To dilute the latter, water was needed, and of that 
there was plenty and to spare. But a little examination 
showed that the bog was a salina, or salt marsh, whose 
water was, of course, undrinkable. The men found a 
trickle in a cow-path, which promised to be more potable, 
and they had to make shift with it. But the major 
explains that even this contained at least ten per cent, of 
Epsom salts ! By their fire they spread their sheepskins 
and went to sleep, holding the bridles of their animals 
in their hands. Towards morning the drizzle became a 
downpour. 

With the daylight the mist cleared off, and they saw 
the big cleft some twelve miles away against the sky. 
They knew that fissure ; they had passed it twice. They 
could now understand how easily they had contrived to 
come again to the same place; the hill was round in 
shape, and they had simply ridden about its circular 
flank. By half-past ten in the morning the famished 
travellers had sighted a farm-house, the first habitation 
they had seen since their start from the banks of the San 
Juan. The breakfast they were provided with there, was 
enjoyed injio ordinary way. Of the rest of their party 
the engineers could hear nothing, and they concluded that 
their men had fared no better than themselves, always 
saving the fact that the men had with them beds and 
food, whereas the masters had neither. San Juan, the 
farmer informed them, was about seven leagues away, a 



17 25 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

journey that should not take more than four hours with 
the mules. 

Half-an-hour's progress from the outlying farm brought 
the major and his friend to the bank of the San Juan 
once more, and they rejoiced, understanding now what a 
mistake they had made when they had left it the previous 
evening, to take a short cut in order to avoid the tiresome 
windings of the stream. Yet even the river had its 
drawbacks, the old experiences being repeated. The two 
forded the stream, but not without some hesitation. Here 
the San Juan was much wider ; the current was certainly 
not less rapid ; they had no guide ; finally, their animals 
were only mules, and not tall horses. It was found 
necessary to make repeated fordings, just as it had been 
higher up the river, and the banks were everywhere steep 
and lofty. This last fact compelled the men in places 
even to make the bed of the river their high-road, it being 
impossible to climb the cliffs on either side. 

The last crossing of this river was almost too much for 

the major, who was no swimmer. His mule was of no 

great height, while the water was deeper than usual. 

His thighs were below the surface of the racing flood, and 

the water poured into his big riding boots, or rather into 

the boot on the current side of him. Suddenly weighted 

in this way, and the mule plunging along at the same 

moment, off came the rider, who plunged head foremost 

into the torrent. Fortunately for himself, he managed to 

catch hold of the mule's tail, and thus scrambled out. 

Don Joaquin was hard-hearted enough to indulge in a 

hearty laugh. His luckless chief had to pull off his boots 

258 



WINDINGS OF THE SAN JUAN 

and empty them before he could take to the saddle again. 
Even after that, he rode a heavier man by twenty pounds 
than he had been before his ducking. That day and the 
previous night, he tells us, had been amongst the most 
miserable of his life. 

At the town of San Juan they were able to gain no 
tidings of the rest of their party, and they concluded that 
they, too, had lost their road. A day and a half later, this 
was proved to be the case, when men and beasts arrived 
at the town far-travelled and weary. 

Note. — From A Mining Journey across the Great Andes, by Major 
Eickard. By kind permission from Messrs. Smith, Elder, 
and Co. 



259 



XXIII 

A FLOOD IN QUEENSLAND 

Floods even in Australia — A Danish emigrant on the banks of a Queens- 
land river — Attacked by a ruffian, who comes off second best — Rains 
and storms set in — The Dane pitches his tent near the river — 
Tremendous floods — Imprisoned for three weeks by the waters — Food 
runs short — Traveller famishing — About to cross the swollen river — 
Finds a man dying of hunger — Risks the passage to a farm on the 
opposite shore — Food refused — The Dane takes some by force for the 
dying man — Helps his sick friend forward — Necessary to cross the 
river again — A horse carried away by the floods — The Dane resigns 
his remaining horse to the sick man — Himself attempts the passage 
on foot — Exciting time — Narrowly escapes drowning — Black ingrati- 
tude of the befriended man. 

That there can be floods, and serious floods, even in 
dry Australia, is well shown by the experiences of a 
Danish emigrant who went to Queensland away back in 
the seventies. His scrambling life out there also illus- 
trates the dangers and difficulties the emigrant had often 
to face in those days in the lonely, outlandish parts of the 
country. 

The emigrant on one occasion had been led into a 
hollow by a tramp he had casually met on his way. 
There the tramp — swagsman, as his class was called — had 
done his best to murder the Dane for the sake of his 
horses and other property. A desperate struggle had 

taken place, the victory coming at last to the Dane, who 

260 



A FLOOD IN QUEENSLAND 

thereupon mounted his horse and made off with all 
speed. 

The emigrant was following the course of one of the 
rivers, and was nearly a hundred miles from the town he 
wished to reach. The weather had been fearfully hot 
and dry, but now it began to rain. It rained incessantly 
for days, and rained in sheets, a condition of things that 
soon made a vast difference to the river. Thus far, 
indeed, the river had been but a perfectly dry sandy 
trough, but now it became a mighty, tearing stream. It 
was evident to the emigrant that he was in for a big 
flood, and he began to be anxious, for the country around 
was very flat. He pitched his tent in the best spot 
available, so far as his judgment went, but a gang of 
stockmen who visited him directed him to a better 
location. This was a narrow little ridge a mile or so from 
the river. Here the wanderer would have to remain in 
his loneliness till the floods should subside, as he well 
knew. 

Next morning he saw with some dismay that the 

swollen waters of the river had advanced much nearer 

his tent than on the previous evening. Before the end 

of that day the emigrant was entirely surrounded by the 

floods, the patch on which he had squatted being now not 

more than ten acres or so. On every side, as far as the 

eye could reach, the roaring waters raged and rushed. 

For three whole weeks the man and his horses were 

prisoners in that awful spot. Not a soul could be seen, 

not a morsel of food could be procured for the man, 

beyond what he happened to have with him. It was 

utterly impossible to get away or to communicate with 

261 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the outside world. Moreover, there was no guarantee 
that a further rise of the waters might not sweep him off 
to destruction. Even if that worst possibility was never 
realized, the man had no notion how long his imprison- 
ment might continue. The situation was an appalling one. 

He now bethought him of an old shepherd, of whom 
he had heard from the stockmen, who had visited the tent 
at the beginning of the flood. This shepherd lived a 
mile and a half away, on a sort of island formed in the 
river, and he was the nearest neighbour. So the emigrant 
began to yell, and the old shepherd answered. But it 
was out of the question for either man to reach the other. 
Probably the shepherd did not mind the floods in the 
least ; likely enough, he was accustomed to go for weeks 
without seeing a soul. With the Dane, the case was very- 
different ; he longed to see the face of a fellow mortal 
again. 

At length the waters subsided somewhat, and the 
prisoner struck his tent and determined to make an effort 
to get away. It was time ; his remaining stock of food 
consisted of a single loaf of bread. The ground was in 
a very water-logged state, and full of nasty dangerous 
holes. With care, however, he managed to reach a 
station, where he hoped to be able to obtain more pro- 
visions. To his dismay the people at the station refused 
to sell him anything, and the next station brought the 
traveller similar bad luck. The case was becoming 
desperate, and for days the poor fellow proceeded on 
his way with scarcely any food to keep body and soul 
together. In this miserable plight, the Dane reached a 

point within four-and-twenty miles of the town. 

262 



A FLOOD IN QUEENSLAND 

But now the river had to be crossed — if that should 
prove possible. On the other side could be seen the 
houses of a farm station. Just as he was about to 
attempt the passage of the river, the houses only a 
couple of hundred yards away, the horses shied suddenly. 
There, lying helpless in the middle of the road, was a 
terrible object, a man dying from hunger. The poor 
wretch desired nothing but to be left to die in peace, so 
he informed the Dane. " What ! " cried the latter, " die 
of hunger right in front of a station here ! Pshaw ! In 
half-an-hour you shall have something to eat," to which 
speech the man on the road replied with a bitter laugh. 
And he proceeded to unfold a strange, miserable tale. 
The squatter opposite had driven him away with curses, 
refusing him food or help of any kind. 

Beyond measure astonished, the Dane determined at 

once to cross the river, if possible, to buy food for himself 

and the unfortunate, and, promising to be back before 

evening, he set off. The river was still in flood, and 

quite unfordable, but the horse swam across safely, and 

the farm was reached. At a stable door near, the Dane 

was stopped by the sound of groaning. Entering the 

stable he found a man lying on his face, and apparently 

in a miserable state. A conversation ensued, in the 

course of which it came out that this poor fellow was 

blind, having been seized by the sand-blight. He was 

unable to help himself, and he, too, was all but starving. 

He knew of the other poor fellow, whom the Dane had 

left lying on the further bank of the river, and told a 

woeful story of the hard-heartedness of the squatter. 

He further assured the emigrant that he would be unable 

263 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

to buy anything from the farmer, who would refuse even 
money. 

The squatter proved to be all that the man in the 
stable had represented him to be. He would sell nothing, 
he said. In vain the new-comer spoke of the luckless 
wretch dying of hunger just across the water there. 
The farmer laughed the notion to scorn, and asserted 
that the fellow was only a loafer. " Let him go to the 
town," the man concluded. 

The Dane indignantly pointed out that a dying man 
could not get to town, a distance of over twenty miles ; 
he could not even get himself across the river. And in 
spite of all entreaties the hard-hearted squatter rode 
away to his work, leaving the other standing hungry, 
speechless, filled with righteous anger. The emigrant 
thought of his own famished condition ; he thought also 
of the still more unfortunate being not far away. Some- 
thing must be done, and he made up his mind to try the 
old woman at the farm. She had been out twice during 
the talk with her husband, and had all but thrown her 
slops at the stranger. 

So the Dane knocked at the door. No answer came, 

and he stepped inside the kitchen. There was cookery 

going on, the smell of which was tempting to a degree to 

a man as empty as the traveller. The old woman now 

ran in from another room, and ordered out the stranger 

angrily. To enforce the command she seized a big stick 

of firewood and struck at him. This was too much for 

the hungry man. Suddenly whipping out a formidable 

knife, he put on a furious look, and without further 

ceremony lifted the lid of one of the saucepans. The 

264 



A FLOOD IN QUEENSLAND 

old lady was probably too scared to do more than object 
mildly, and the thief, for such he was for the moment, 
drew out a lump of meat weighing five or six pounds. 
It was robbery with threats, but Decessity knows no law. 

With the meat the emigrant, faithful to his word, 
recrossed the swollen river, once more getting over safely. 
Soon he and the poor wretch he was succouring were 
enjoying a hearty meal, which they were able to supple- 
ment by the tea they made. During the repast the 
unfortunate man told his story to his benefactor, and a 
terrible story it was. It appeared that he, too, had camped 
out all the flood-time, only, unlike the Dane, he had had 
no tent. Somehow he had managed to keep a fire always 
alight, and had put his blanket over a stick to make what 
shelter it might from the incessant rain and wind storms. 
Then he had begun his wanderings once more. On one 
part of the way, he had waded through water shoulder- 
deep for five miles, and had only kept his direction at all 
by the help of the posts sticking here and there out of 
the floods. Occasionally he had received trifling help 
from people he had met with, but for the most part his 
state had gone from bad to worse, till he had lain him 
down to die, here in front of the house of a well-to-do 
squatter. 

By the time the man's tale was ended he had become 

very sick ; he had eaten too much for his famished and 

weakened stomach. At that moment a diversion occurred. 

The report of a gun was heard from the farm over the 

stream. It was probable the farmer had returned, and 

that his old wife had told him of the robbery that morning. 

She had most likely not tried to minimize the guilt of the 

265 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

offender. Would the squatter come to take summary 
vengeance for the raid upon his kitchen ? The Dane did 
not know, anyhow he could not leave his helpless friend, 
whatever happened. But no farmer came, and the Dane 
concluded that the man was either too much of a gentle- 
man or too much of a coward to come out and try 
conclusions with the robber. 

The emigrant was now anxious to get on his way once 
more, and prepared to start, when a strange and unlucky 
accident befell him. One of his horses was suddenly 
carried away by the rushing river, and drowned. The 
poor beasts had been rendered mad by the sand-flies, 
which were so troublesome that it was only possible for 
even the men to keep at all clear of them by sitting right 
in the thick of the smoke from the fire. The horse in its 
madness had dashed into the river, and being hobbled, it 
could do nothing but float helplessly down the stream. 
It was the Dane's best animal, and his saddle-horse. 

The two men remained on the spot all night, unmolested 

by the squatter. Next morning they were almost as 

hungry as ever. To get across the river once more was 

now the task before them. The owner led his remaining 

horse to the bank and tried many places to see if the 

stream were fordable, but found no part where a horse 

might walk across. That he himself could get over he 

knew, the animal being able to swim with a man on his 

back. But there was the poor wretch who possessed no 

horse. He was unable to ride, he declared, and even had 

he been a horseman, the animal would not allow him to 

mount, rearing and bucking in vigorous fashion whenever 

the attempt was made. Neither of the men could swim. 

2b6 



A FLOOD IN QUEENSLAND 

And the sick man was very short of stature, so that it 
might be clays before the river had fallen enough to 
enable him to ford it. As for the Dane, he spent most of 
the day wading about the water with a long pole in his 
hand, trying to find a sufficiently shallow place. He was 
fully determined not to leave the other till he had seen 
him safely across and in a more hopeful condition. 

A couple of hours before sunset the Dane prepared to 
try the passage, come what might. He was, in truth, 
utterly weary of his companion's repinings and lamenta- 
tions. The undertaking was a dangerous one for him, 
because he was about to make it on foot, the horse being 
assigned by him to his less fortunate friend. He wrote a 
few lines to the manager of the bank in which his money 
was, telling him what to do with the cash in case of a 
fatal result. This the kindly fellow put into an envelope 
and entrusted to the other to post. The rest of his 
property the emigrant gave to his companion, should he 
alone survive the passage. 

The weaker man was placed on the horse, which did not 
now resent it, and directed to remain on the bank till the 
owner of the animal should get across in safety. That 
once effected, the horse would, on being called for by his 
master, swim over readily enough. Thus was the generous- 
hearted Dane deliberately risking his own life to help a 
poor wretch he had casually met with. 

The emigrant's first step was to strip off all his clothes, 
and place the bundle, strapped to the pack-saddle, on his 
head, to give him extra weight, so as to increase his 
chances of standing against the strength of the current. 
Then he cut a pole of about fifteen feet in length, and 

267 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

entered the water. Advancing across the current he 
managed to reach the middle of the stream, which was 
sixty or seventy yards wide, say, about the width of the 
Thames at Teddington. The struggle was severe. The 
water rushed along with great force, almost carrying him 
off his feet. When he lifted the pole to feel for the bottom 
in a fresh place, he found it almost impossible to get the 
thing into the water again. 

At length his strength was utterly exhausted. He was 
standing on tiptoe, his face barely above the surface of the 
water. With all the force he could muster he could 
hardly keep his feet. It could not last long at this rate. 
Yet there, but a few feet in front of him, were the 
pendent boughs of a large tree, which drooped to the 
water level. The drowning man had but to grasp those 
branches and he would be safe. Alas ! they were as 
much beyond his reach as if they had been a mile off ! 
The poor fellow felt that his last hour had come, and his 
whole past life seemed to flit before his eyes. 

Then a mocking " Ha, ha ! " rang out on the air. 

Turning his head, the Dane beheld the miserable being 

he was giving his life to help, comfortably astride of the 

horse and still on the bank, laughing a jeering laugh at the 

predicament his benefactor was in. This was the Dane's 

first thought, but then it occurred to him that it was 

after all only the other's way of cheering him on. Yet the 

sound was an ugly and unpleasant one all the same. It 

had one effect, that of making the struggling man flush up 

and nerve himself for a last big effort. Never would he 

drown in that wretched muddy stream ! 

Throwing aside his pole, he made a dash forward. He 

268 



A FLOOD IN QUEENSLAND 

rolled over into the flood, and in a trice his saddle and 
clothing were gone — swept away. However, by great good 
fortune, he managed to grasp a branch. A moment or 
two more, and he was lying safe on the farther bank, 
but in a dead faint. It was the first and only time in 
his life the man had fainted. 

When he came to himself again, he found his companion 
had already made the passage, and, with the horse, was 
standing near. The sick man was in capital spirits. Here 
he was over the dreaded river and likely now to get to 
the town, with some effort. The two determined to push 
on all night so as to reach the place by the early morning. 
The Dane advised the feebler man to walk on a little, so 
as not to lose time. As for himself, he would follow on 
horseback, he said, as soon as he had pulled himself 
together a little, after his efforts and the consequent 
swoon. 

And now an incredible thing happened. The emigrant 
was entirely naked, his bundle of clothes having gone with 
the saddle, as^ has been related. Naturally, therefore, he 
suggested to the fellow he had ventured his life to save, 
that he should give him some of the spare garments he had 
in his sack. To the astonishment of the naked man, his 
companion, pulling out a couple of shirts and two pairs of 
breeches he had bought in Liverpool — the fellow was an 
Englishman — offered to sell the articles, a shirt for five 
shillings, a pair of breeches for eight, or five, if that were 
thought to be too much ! 

" I was completely amazed," the Danish emigrant says. 

" Was this the man for whom I had risked my life, and as 

nearly as possible lost it ? For whom — call it what you 

269 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

like — I had begged and taken by force at the station what 
I had thought necessary to save his life ? " 

It was certainly a situation that, to the credit of human- 
ity, is seldom seen even in this hard world of ours. There 
sat the naked man, unable to proceed without clothing ; 
there, in front of him, stood the man he had saved, with 
spare clothing in his bag. The wretch did not seem to 
have the least notion that he was in any way indebted to 
the generous and plucky Dane. No, his preserver must 
buy clothing with hard cash, or go without ! 

There was nothing for it but to pay the price, and after 
the benefactor had clothed himself in an old shirt, and a 
pair of breeches a foot too short for him, he watched the 
sordid scoundrel depart quite happy on his way. It is 
hardly to be wondered at that the Dane, as he sat in his 
soreness and amazement, should vow that never again 
would he succour a needy fellow mortal. 

Note. — From Missing Friends, by kind permission of Mr. T. Fisher 
Unwin. 



270 



XXIV 

THE FIRST STEAMER ON LAKE NY ASS A 

Mr. Young goes to superintend the building and launching of a steamboat 
on Nyassa — Vessel taken in sections to the Cape, thence to the Zam- 
besi mouths — Difficulty in finding the proper channel — Bolts and 
nuts found to be rusty — Boat launched and the voyage up the Zam- 
besi begun — Loss of the cutter — Difficulties with shallows — The Shire 
river entered — Heat and mosquitoes — Dangerous gorge — The Falls 
reached — Exceptional portage, eight hundred men employed — Boat, 
machinery, boiler, tackle, stores, all carried for seventy miles to a point 
above the cataracts — Food runs short, hippopotamuses killed — Hos- 
tility of the Arab slave-traders — Steamboat reconstructed — Steams out 
of Shire into the lake. 

" It was proved possible to carry a steam -vessel over 
very great natural obstacles, up mountainous passes and 
through break-neck gorges." 

The story of how this feat was accomplished, from the 
very modestly-worded account of Lieutenant Young, of 
the Royal Navy, the man who carried so difficult a matter 
to a successful conclusion, is worth telling. 

Mr. Young was a coastguard officer, who obtained leave 
from his post at Dungeness for the purpose of super- 
intending the work in view, viz., the conveying of a steam- 
boat to the far-off and almost inaccessible waters of Nyassa, 
that veritable inland sea which forms by no means the 
least important feeder of the mighty river Zambesi. The 

vessel was intended mainly for missionary purposes. But 

271 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

it was hoped that its presence on the blue waters of the 
great lake would do something to frighten the scoundrels 
who carried on the cruel slave trade everywhere around 
its shores. The appearance of the ship on the waters of 
the Nyassa was a splendid triumph for British persever- 
ance and pluck, and an auspicious event for the progress 
of civilization. 

The vessel was built on the Thames, and was so con- 
structed that it could be taken in pieces, each of a 
portable size. All but the boilers, that is, for it was 
impossible to do the necessary riveting away on the 
banks of the Zambesi. The boat was named the Ilala, 
from the name of the distant African village where Mrs. 
Livingstone had died years before. The steamer would 
soon, it was hoped, be passing Ilala itself, and it was be- 
lieved the natives would hail the coming of a vessel with 
a name so familiar, and hallowed by its associations to all 
who were Christians among them. A trial trip was made 
on the Thames, and a speed of eleven or twelve knots was 
easily obtained. 

The boat was now taken to pieces and shipped by one 
of the Donald Currie liners to the Cape, where the 
German steamer Hara was chartered to carry it to the 
mouth of the Zambesi. Here the real difficulties began, 
and they began at once, and continued to the very hour 
that saw the Ilala ploughing its way for the first time on 
the Nyassa lake itself. 

A storm came on between the Cape and the river 

mouth, or, rather, mouths, for the Zambesi pours its 

immense floods into the sea through many outlets. In 

truth, it is often hard to say which is an actual channel, 

272 



FIRST STEAMER ON LAKE NYASSA 

and so the missionary party now found. Heavy squalls 
came on, and the Kara was compelled to stand off the 
coast for a while. In the end the vessel was steered into 
one of the mouths of the river, and this turned out to be 
the Kongone mouth, whereas the captain had been of 
opinion at first that it was the Luabo mouth. It was not 
without difficulty that this was managed, what with 
the mists and the shallows, or bar across the entrance. 

Soon a number of natives came flocking around in their 
canoes, the greater part delighted to see the " Ingereze," 
or English, again. To hire a gang of the blacks to cut 
wood, help with the sheds, and so forth, was Young's first 
care. A slip-way was made and the keel laid down. The 
captain of the German steamer gave every help in his 
power. The sections of the new steam-vessel were taken 
out and carried ashore. Presently the actual work of 
construction was going on merrily. 

A great disappointment now came. To the dismay 
of Lieutenant Young and his artificers nearly all the 
screws and bolts were found to be covered with rust. 
Apparently they were useless, but the officer, not to be 
defeated, engaged a number of natives to clean and scour 
the bolts, one by one, with sand and oil. The sun's heat 
was scorching, and the labour excessive, and altogether 
the work and the delay were very trying. 

However, the day for launching the new craft came at 

length. It was a marvel the launching was effected at 

all, for the ways had slipped. The help of the Kara, 

however, proved to be sufficient to bring the Mala to 

water. The trip up the Zambesi was begun without delay. 

Minor disasters were plentiful, and some of the troubles 
18 273 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

were more serious. The month was August, and should 
have been fine and dry, but there came on a spell of 
rain, the downpour being of the true tropical character. 
This meant hard work for all hands. Then the Ilala 
grounded on a sand-bank and stuck fast, and presently a 
worse thing happened. The black cook, who had been 
trusted to bring along the vessel's cutter, turned up one 
night with the tale that his boat had been upset in a 
squall, and that not only had a considerable quantity of 
valuable stores been lost, but two of the crew had been 
drowned. Amongst the articles lost in the river were 
nearly all Mr. Young's clothes, and, still more serious, the 
stock of boots. 

At the settlement of Mazaro, where the expedition pro- 
posed to hire men and lay in food, it was found that 
nearly everything had at least doubled in price. This 
was owing to a civil war that had been afoot some little 
time before. It was Portuguese territory, and the slave- 
trading gentry did not look on the advent of the British 
steamer with any very friendly eye. 

The ship stood away for Shupanga, the spot where Mr. 
Young himself, with others, had, many years before, laid 
to rest the departed wife of the great missionary, David 
Livingstone. Here it was, too, that the predecessor of the 
Ilala had been launched. For there had been a pre- 
decessor to the new vessel, a steamboat that Livingstone 
had fondly hoped might do what the Ilala was about to 
accomplish — sail on the waters of Nyassa. This earlier 
vessel, the Lady Nyassa, had been found to be too heavy 
for its purpose, and had had to be taken to pieces again, 

as useless for that place and work. 

274 



FIRST STEAMER ON LAKE NYASSA 

The Bala drew four feet of water, and an anxious and 
laborious time the crew had of it right up the mouth of 
the Shire, of which confluent of the great Zambesi the 
lake Nyassa is but a vast widening-out. Anchors had 
often to be laid out, much straining and hauling had to 
be done, and, heavier task still, part of the cargo had to 
be lifted out and then lifted in again when the sand-bank 
was passed. 

It was about a fortnight after the launching of the 
vessel when she entered the Shire\ Young now found 
that since his last visit to the district the river had greatly 
altered its course, with the result that he was confronted 
by no little difficulty. His own words will serve to make 
clearer the situation. 

"The land lying in the fork at the junction of the two 
rivers is, at the best of times, little more than a swampy 
plain, sacred to buffaloes, water-buck and mosquitoes. 
Two years ago an extraordinary flood occurred, and the 
mighty torrent of the Zambesi put forth all its power. 
One consequence is that it no longer keeps its even 
course from Senna, but takes a turn through a great 
shallow lake, to the confusion of those who now almost 
despair of finding the waters of the Shire in the various 
currents which mingle here. Do what we could, we could 
make nothing of it. If we hit on a channel that was 
navigable, it ended in a cul-de-sac, or led us to the Zam- 
besi; and at last, after two miserable days and nights, 
with very stormy weather, I sent a boat's crew away to 
try and find some natives to pilot us out of this abomin- 
able place. These they succeeded in finding, and so at 

last we had a chance of being extricated. To bring this 

275 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

about we were taken back a long way, and had eventually 
to cut an opening through a wall of reeds and grass 
extending quite half a mile." 

The members of the expedition had now no doubt about 
being actually in the Shire ; the number and voracity of 
the mosquitoes settled that point. Calling at Ruo to 
place a cross on the grave of the devoted Bishop Mackenzie, 
Mr. Young prepared to face the Elephant marshes, a 
region where no wood for the engines was to be found. 
That a favourable wind might spring up, therefore, every- 
body fervently hoped. The natives for some seventy 
miles of the river stretch were full of deadly hostility to 
the Portuguese, and from every village — all stockaded — 
along the banks they were ready to attack any vessel 
flying the Portuguese flag. Young, more fortunate, found 
an old friend among the chiefs, and thus passed safely 
enough. More, the Makololo people showed their friendli- 
ness by heaping on the party of English a great number 
of presents of all kinds. 

The Ilala was approaching the Cataracts, but it was 
not there yet. To reach Matiti, where the vessel would 
have to be taken to pieces once more, it was necessary to 
pass through a rock-strewn gorge. At low water several 
of these dangerous obstacles showed above the surface. 
The current ran with a strength so great that it was 
almost impossible to steer through the narrow spaces 
between the protruding rocks. At any moment the ship 
might have been swung round upon one of them, and 
then it would have been all over with the Ilala. The 
commander had a very anxious time of it. 

The steamer reached the Falls at length, jusb about a 

276 



FIRST STEAMER ON LAKE NYASSA 

month after it had left the stocks at the Zambesi mouth. 
There remained the most arduous, if the most beautiful, 
portion of the route before the broad bosom of the lake 
should appear. For nearly seventy miles there was an 
almost continuous succession of cataracts and rapids, 
where the waters were broken and tossed about " hither 
and thither, over rocks and precipices, in whirlpools and 
eddies, in dark glens and again in sunlit stretches of 
surpassing beauty." 

Young had now to make portage arrangements on the 
largest scale, a scale rarely attempted by even the boldest 
and most distinguished explorers and pioneers. The Bala, 
with all its machinery and attendant boats, all its tackling, 
its stores, and the other thousand and one things stowed 
in it, had to be carried on men's shoulders over miles of 
country, with bad, broken ground, hampered by obstacles, 
often with steep ascents. Further, the district was one 
where malarial and other fevers were rife, where dangerous 
animals abounded, where food was scarce. Then the 
native porters would have to be trusted absolutely, for 
their number would have to be far too great to admit of 
supervision on the journey. And should one among them 
throw away or make off with a single important portion 
of the ship or its machinery, the whole object of the 
expedition would be defeated. Lieutenant Young's 
anxieties at that time must have been many and heavy. 

No time was lost, however, in setting to work to take 
the Ilala to pieces. The place, Matiti, was not only 
intolerably hot, but notoriously unhealthy. To get the 
men away from the spot with their burdens as quickly as 
possible was imperative. Luckily the Makololos were in 

277 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

great force thereabout, and to them Young applied for 
assistance in the heavy portage operations. The more 
porters the chief could bring in the merrier, he said. The 
load to be assigned to each man was not to exceed fifty 
pounds in weight, and the price to be paid per man was 
to be six yards of calico, each individual to find his own 
food for the journey. 

To prevent disputes and grumblings as to the exact 
weight of each load, Mr. Young had a steelyard hung 
from a tree, and this settled the matter. Six days after 
the arrival at the foot of the Cataracts the first two 
hundred and fifty men with their burdens were sent off — 
a good start. But now the supply of carriers ran short, 
and the leader of the expedition had to beat about the 
country for more. A delay thus occurred, and a trying 
thing it was, for the temperature was 100° in the shade, 
and this, too, in a place where the air was saturated with 
moisture. 

Now the engineers and carpenters having done their 

work below the falls, started off to the upper waters, to 

be ready to receive the various portions of the ship as 

they arrived. So terrible was the heat that it was only 

with the utmost difficulty the white men reached their 

destination. Meanwhile the commander himself remained 

behind, fretting his soul at the delay. But soon his 

heart was rejoiced by the Makololo chief turning up with 

three hundred more men. Some of these fellows had 

come from a distance of forty miles to take part in the 

portage. They were set on their long tramp with their 

burdens. 

There remained now only the boiler and certain stores 

278 



FIRST STEAMER ON LAKE NYASSA 

that Young wished to keep to the last. With the stores 
a hundred men brought up the rear. The boiler was 
another matter. There were two boilers in reality, but 
an ingenious suggestion had been made by a friend in 
England, by the adoption of which, one of these could, it 
was hoped and believed, be dispensed with. Accordingly 
one of the two was left behind. To carry the other 
Mr. Young had provided a sort of carriage on wheels, and 
on this the weighty metal was laid. The toil involved 
in the dragging along of so ponderous a thing can only 
be faintly imagined. The sun was so fierce that it was 
impossible to lay a hand on the boiler itself in the 
day-time. As the leader says, " it was a stern fight 
between flesh and muscle on one hand, and the dead 
weight on the other." 

For eight miles onwards, and ever upwards, the burdens 
big and little had been painfully dragged. Then the 
supply of food ran short. The poor fellows had provided 
for their long and arduous journey all too scantily, and 
many of them were in danger of dropping from want of 
food. Fortunately the body of a huge eland was discovered 
on the path, and without any show of squeamishness the 
hungering porters set to work to cook the flesh. The 
smell that arose was only too perceptible to the nose 
of the commander. But better luck still came. Young 
shot a couple of hippopotamuses, a perfect god-send to a 
famishing throng. 

Ten days had been occupied in the carriage of the ship 

and its adjuncts, but at last the required level, above all 

falls, was reached. To the sorrow of the commander the 

place proved to be pestilential to a degree, and many of 

279 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the men were down with the fever at once. The work of 
reconstructing the vessel was accordingly pushed on with- 
out delay. The heat, the malarial air and the mosquitoes 
made the labour most irksome. The leader tried smoking 
to keep away the vicious little insect pests, but to no 
purpose. With pipe in mouth, he tells us, he had no 
fewer than six mosquitoes settled on his nose at the same 
time ! The final batch of one hundred and sixty-eight 
carriers turned up a couple of days after the commander, 
having had to bring on certain goods that had been left 
for a time at Mazaro. 

Lieutenant Young's trust in r the fidelity and honesty 
of the poor black fellows had been amply justified. 
Eight hundred of them had been employed, and these 
men, with every opportunity to slip away or throw down 
their burdens, had yet worked desperately and faithfully 
for their master. " At the end of the sixty miles we had 
everything delivered up to us unmolested, untampered 
with and unhurt, and every man merry and content with 
his well-earned wages. Let this ever stand to the 
African's credit ! " 

Just under a fortnight from the arrival of the party 
above the cataracts the little vessel was ready and afloat 
once more. A couple of days were spent in setting the 
engines and getting on board the stores. The time for 
the trial trip had now come. What would be the 
behaviour of the Mala with its single boiler ? The 
engineers had no faith in the success of the experiment, 
and for a time it seemed as if their doubts were not 
unreasonable. The thing would not move, and already 
visions of another month amongst mosquitoes and malarias, 

280 



FIRST STEAMER ON LAKE NYASSA 

till what time the remaining boiler could be fetched up, 
passed vividly before the minds of them all. But the 
leader's faith never wavered. Certain little alterations 
were made, and then, with fifty pounds of steam up, the 
trim craft bounded merrily along ! There was but to 
forge ahead up-stream into the lake itself, and the task 
was accomplished. 

A sort of shallow lake intervened, and through this the 
vessel snorted and puffed its way, to the terror of the large 
company of hippopotamuses inhabiting the place. One of 
these unwieldly beasts attempted to dive under the vessel's 
stern, and got a nasty gash from the screw for his pains. 
The natives assembled in crowds to see the strange sight. 

Young now called upon M'Ponda, the great chief of the 
district. To his surprise he found that ruler's attitude 
not so friendly as of old. The reason soon appeared. 
The Arab slave-traders, fearful lest the coming of the 
English and their steamboat should interfere with their 
horrid trade, had made attempts to prejudice the king 
against the new-comers. It required some tact to win 
back the black chieftain, but Young managed it. He 
offered to take the king for a cruise, but at the last 
moment MToncla's courage failed him. 

The eventful day, October 12, which was to see the 

Ilala enter the lake, dawned auspiciously. The weather 

was magnificent. At early dawn all was ready, steam 

well up. The whistle brought together thousands of 

spectators. The commander first amused the natives on 

the banks by steaming up and down past them at full 

speed several times, to their intense delight. Then the 

Ilala's head was put for the lake itself. 

281 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

It was a moment of great excitement and thankfulness, 
the commander tells us, and we can well believe it. " God 
speed you ! " he cried to his crew, and a loud and sincere 
" Amen " followed. Then the beautiful vessel sailed out 
of the river, and " for the first time the great blue waters 
of Nyassa received the first steam- vessel that had ever 
entered upon an African lake ! " 

Livingstone's darling plan was at length an accom- 
plished fact. " Who amongst us," writes Young, " could 
help feeling the sacred breath of a blessing upon him at 
such an hour ? " 

Note. — From Lieut. Young's Nyassa, by kind permission of Mr. John 
Murray. 



282 



XXV 

WILD LIFE ON THE PARANA 

The Upper Parana streams — Mr. Bigg-Wither, an English engineer — Boat 
bearing down upon a series of cataract-rapids — First fall negotiated 
with difficulty — Boat dashed over second fall — Capsizes — Severe 
struggle in the waters — Canoe upside down — Mr. Bigg- Wither and 
his servant Messeno saved at length — Tropical insects — The "berne" 
— Wild pigs — A formidable assailant — The boar killed — Dead boar 
given to a German to carry — Man chaffed by his mates — Falls from 
tree bridge with his burden — An alarm — " Indians ! " — A dark form 
enters hut in the night — Proves to be a fine ocelot — Snake on a man's 
arm — A tapir hunt — Another tapir chased by a jaguar — Animals 
collide with hut — Cobra drops into a canoe containing a single man — 
Man fell out as cobra fell in. 

Thirty or forty years ago the district of the Upper 

Parana streams was one of the least known of the South 

American regions to Europeans. Even now it is a country 

into which comparatively few travellers make their way. 

Yet some of the Parana tributaries are fine streams, and 

flow through a magnificent country. The river valleys 

themselves have all the characteristics of the tropical 

river basins, heat, abundant animal and vegetable life, 

dangerous wild beasts, snakes, insect pests. But there is 

also a more or less elevated prairie district which is much 

cooler and pleasanter for Europeans. Mr. Bigg- Wither, 

an English civil engineer, had experience of both of these 

tracts of country. He greatly preferred the prairie, but 

283 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

his fate kept him mainly to the banks of the Tibagy and 
Ivahy, two very large tributaries of the great Parana. 

Within about a mile from the camp occupied by Mr. 
Bigg- Wither and his men was a cataract, which it was 
necessary to pass now and then. When the water was 
low this was not so difficult a feat ; sometimes, indeed, it 
was simply a question of getting out of the canoe into 
the water and guiding her among the ugly protruding 
rocks. At length came a time when the river was in 
roaring flood, and had to be navigated in spite of it. The 
canoe party had forgotten the fact till all at once the 
thunder of the falls reminded them that their course was 
not without danger. " We are lost ! " shouted one of the 
men, as all at once they realized that they were in the 
power of the current, and must inevitably be drawn over 
the cataract. The full extent of the risk came vividly 
before their minds as, with the dazzling sunset blinding 
their eyes, they raced impetuously down the first slippery 
reach that preceded the cataract proper. 

At the bottom of this water-slide there was a wall of 

foam, and into this the canoe dashed. The water surged 

on board in huge volumes, and for a moment it seemed as 

if everything and everybody was doomed to destruction. 

But a second more brought the craft to the surface again. 

So far so good, but there was a similar line of breakers 

ahead, marking another rocky ledge. This had to be 

faced with the canoe half-full of water, and the boat was 

bound to go under. Mr. Bigg- Wither grasped his valuable 

gun with one hand, while with the other he seized his 

still more valuable parcel of survey note-books. He was 

284 



WILD LIFE ON THE PARANA 

only just in time, for the waters came upon them im- 
mediately with a hiss, covering them completely. He felt 
at once that the canoe had gone, as he was swirled over 
the rocky ledge. 

Then a moment later he perceived the boat floating 
upside down close to him. He seized it with one hand, 
but it rolled over and threw him under water a second 
time. Again and again the same thing happened, till he 
was all but choked and blinded by the waves. To keep 
himself on the surface at all required efforts so great that 
he was thoroughly exhausted. He says : " I expected 
momentarily to be dashed against some hidden rock, 
when the question of ' to be or not to be ' would have 
been definitely settled in the negative. The mighty 
roaring of the waters all around us, and the still more 
horrid hiss which told of a rock barely covered, over 
which we were passing at the rate of twelve miles an 
hour, would have shaken my nerves had I had time to 
think." 

But the worst was past now ; the cataract with its great- 
est dangers behind him. Then he observed his companion 
Messeno calmly sitting astride of the up-turned canoe, 
a thing his free hands had enabled him to do. Mr. Bigg- 
Wither managed to get one arm round the keel, but was 
far too exhausted to make any further effort. At that 
instant a large canoe came in sight, racing at a tremend- 
ous pace down-stream. To stop was out of the power of 
the crew of the large boat. But they managed dexter- 
ously to get their big canoe across stream somewhat, so as 

to detain the upturned boat for a little while. Just in 

285 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

the nick of time Mr. Bigg- Wither was pulled in, as well 
as his companion Messeno. Another moment, and the 
engineer must have dropped both gun and books. "From 
that day forth," he writes, " I entertained a wholesome 
respect for the power of water in motion. I had practic- 
ally proved how utterly helpless a man must be under 
such conditions." 

With the usual insect plagues of the tropics, the engi- 
neer grew only too familiar. But there was one pest that 
deserves special mention. Feeling a strange and irritating 
pain in his flesh, a pain that at intervals grew excruciating, 
he was told that it was caused by a " berne." This results 
from an egg laid by a species of fly. The sting is not 
severe, and the pain of it goes at once, but the egg is 
deposited. Within a week the grub has grown enor- 
mously, and when it is fully developed it measures an 
inch and a quarter in length and half an inch in diameter. 
There are five dark-coloured rings round the body, and on 
examination these are found to be fringes of minute hairs 
or bristles. The hairs are the feeders of the animal, and 
as it has the habit of making a portion of a revolution 
about itself at intervals, they tear the flesh of the luckless 
victim. The sufferer is, in truth, being slowly eaten 
alive. The engineer was vexed to think he had such 
vermin about his person, but there was no help for it, and 
he had to submit to an operation for the removal of the 
intruder. Dogs suffer terribly from the "berne" pest, 
and the traveller saw on one occasion two hundred of 
these grubs extracted from the body of a single dog in 

the course of an hour's operations. 

286 



WILD LIFE ON THE PARANA 

A sudden rush in the bushes one morning startled Mr. 
Bigg- Wither and his man Jaca; a curious noise like the 
rattling of " nigger-bones " followed. " Wild pigs ! " whis- 
pered Jaca excitedly, and he at once drew his pistol and 
went off after the animal, his master hard behind him. 
The clack, clack, sounded now close to them, now from 
a distance. The hindering branches were swiftly cut 
aside by Jaca's sharp knife, the blade running through 
them as if they had been butter. Pell-mell the two men 
dashed along, the clack at times seeming almost under 
their feet. Then they would stop and try to penetrate 
the gloom of the thick undergrowth of the jungle. Pre- 
sently the clacking sounds began to come from all sides ; 
the hunters had evidently come across a whole herd of 
the pigs. The master now worked off towards the right, 
the man towards the left, both ready with knife and gun. 
Suddenly two animals at once rushed past Mr. Bigg- 
Wither ; both his barrels were emptied into one of the 
pigs, and he darted quickly after his victim, knife in hand. 
He found the poor brute badly wounded, but attempting 
to drag himself away on his fore-legs, the others being 
broken by the shots. 

A formidable assailant even yet the boar looked, his 
naming eyes, his enormous tusks and his savage attitude 
presenting a terrifying spectacle to a beginner at the 
business of pig-sticking. The animal made a desperate 
attempt to charge, mouth open, but the hunter was too 
quick for him, and in an instant had pierced his neck 
several times. Even in death the savageness of the boar's 
look was remarkable. He was a fine animal, and Mr. 

287 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

Bigg- Wither was delighted with the result of his first 

attempt at the game. While he was looking at his prize 

he heard the report of a pistol, but before long Jaca 

turned up without any result to boast of ; he had missed 

his pig. Yet the number of pigs about showed, he said, 

that the district must have an abundance of jaguars and 

pumas, the tigers and lions of South America, since those 

savage animals were always found in plenty where the 

wild pigs were numerous. 

The dead boar was given to one of the men to carry, a 

German, who for various reasons was the butt of the 

party. Now it happened that the river had to be crossed 

twice on the homeward course, and the only sort of bridge 

available consisted of a single tree, which had been felled 

close to the banks of the stream and allowed to fall across. 

These tree bridges were the terror of the German's life, 

and he usually preferred to wade or swim rather than 

attempt to cross by the fallen tree. To-day, however, his 

comrades dared him to cross the bridge with the pig on 

his shoulders, and in a weak moment the man gave way, 

not relishing the chaffing of which there was plenty. Yet 

when he reached the bridge and saw its narrowness and 

its slipperiness his courage began to fail him, whereupon 

his mates began again to chaff him unmercifully. With 

the heavy pig strapped to his shoulders, therefore, Dagan 

stepped on to the bridge, and more or less unsteadily 

made his way to the middle of it. Then his heart gave 

way, and he began to totter ominously, first leaning in 

this direction, now in that. Fixing his eyes firmly on the 

bank for which he was making, he made another start. 

288 



WILD LIFE ON THE PARANA 

Three steps he took, each bringing his centre of gravity 
more over the water, then with the third step man and 
pig fell with a great splash some twenty feet into the 
stream below. His mates, notwithstanding their chaff, 
were ready with help, and presently Dagan was drawn 
out of danger. But he was thoroughly scared ; the thing 
had got on his nerves, and he begged the master to dis- 
pense with his future services and allow him to return to 
his home. 

New Year's Eve the Englishman spent in his own little 
hut, a short distance away from his comrades. This 
separate cabin he had had constructed in order to get 
away from the swarms of fleas with which, in spite of all 
their care, the general camp was infested. He could just 
see the camp fire through the trees, and make out the 
dark forms of the men against it. He was in a sort of 
half-doze, when a slight but unusual sound reaching his 
ear straightway put him on the alert. He listened, 
holding his breath, and the same sounds were repeated. 
" The Indians ! " he thought in a moment, for there had 
been rumours that some of the tribes might possibly 
attack the surveying expedition. He felt for his rifle, 
but made no noise. He was soon convinced it could not 
be the Indians, the noise being too continuous, for the 
Indians in their attacks keep the strictest silence till with 
a yell they rush in to strike. 

Soon a dark form was seen to enter the hut and 

gradually advance farther into the interior, but whether 

the visitor were man or beast there was not light enough 

to determine. The fire had died down to a few ruddy 
19 289 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

embers. Raising his rifle to his shoulders the Englishman 
prepared to shoot, his eye vainly trying to mark the 
sight. All he could see was the line of red made along 
the barrel by the reflection from the fire. By this time 
the intruder had advanced beyond the fire and was close 
upon the hammock. In an instant the loud report rang 
out into the forest, while the shooter had been nearly 
knocked bodily out of his hammock by the recoil of the 
big rifle. 

Men and dogs from the camp came rushing madly to 
the hut, but Mr. Bigg- Wither was already out on the 
floor, regardless of the risk he was running. The advent 
of a light enabled him to see his prize. It was an ocelot, 
a fine specimen of the animal too, almost as large as one 
of the hunting dogs, as could be plainly seen when he 
seized the brute by the leg and held up the body. From 
the nose to the end of the tail the ocelot was found to 
measure three feet nine inches. It was only the second 
of the kind met with by the expedition. The surveyor 
spent the rest of the night in skinning the animal, a 
trying operation, for the scent of the ocelot, like that of 
all the cat tribe, is pungent and penetrating to a degree. 

A most extraordinary adventure came one night soon 
after, to two men. One of them, Von Sydow by name, 
while asleep in his hammock was roused by feeling some- 
thing sucking hard at his finger. He sprang out of bed 
and got a light, but could see nothing. However, as his 
finger was sore, he proceeded to doctor it a little. Mean- 
while Morant, another of the expedition, was sleeping not 
far away, his arm hanging out from his hammock, the 

290 



WILD LIFE ON THE PARANA 

night being very warm. Presently he too was awakened 
by feeling something cold on his arm. Imagine his 
horror when, in the dim gleam from Von Sydow's light, 
Morant beheld a snake coiled round his arm ! Its head 
was waving backwards and forwards within a few inches 
of his face ! The horror of the situation must for the 
moment have been intense. " A snake ! help ! " he called 
out to Von Sydow, to which that individual replied only 
with a " Ja, ja," probably not understanding what his 
companion said. A second agonized call produced no 
better results. By this time the unfortunate man was 
almost beside himself, anything was better than this 
horrible suspense ; he could no longer bear to watch with 
staring eyes the wavings of that head, which at any 
instant might dart forward and plunge its death-dealing 
fangs into his face. He must risk all. 

Then the man flung himself wildly out of his hammock, 
and, with a mighty swing of his arm, threw the beast 
from him. The snake glided noiselessly away into the 
bush and was lost. Morant was safe, but the reaction 
produced a feeling of sickness. One moment in the 
greatest danger, the next moment safe ! What the kind 
of snake was, could not be told with certainty, but it was 
believed to be a species of rattlesnake, and of the deadliest 
sort. 

An exciting tapir hunt ended oddly. There was a 

great hue and cry after the animal, men and dogs rushing 

off in great excitement. The beast led the chase hither 

and thither amongst the jungle, but at length took to 

the river. The hunters lost no time in springing into 

291 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

their canoes, while the dogs with wild yelps flung them- 
selves into the water and followed. The quarry was 
a little ahead, but the tip of his snout could be seen as 
he swam gallantly down-stream. The pursuit grew hotter, 
and at length one of the party fired. The shot did not 
take effect, and at that instant the animal disappeared 
from view round a bend in the river. For a little while 
the sight of the tapir was lost to the party, and they 
were about to give up the chase. Then, out in the 
middle of the stream, a little distance away, the nose of 
the animal could be perceived once more, and the men 
pressed on at full speed. Gradually the boats gained on 
the poor brute, while the dogs, having left the water, 
were barking with all their might from the further bank. 
The instant arrived when another shot might profitably 
be tried. Steadying himself, the surveyor took good aim 
at the snout, and with the ringing report that followed, 
the head sank under water. In his eagerness Mr. Bigg- 
Wither jumped out of the boat, unwilling to let the 
body be carried away by the stream and be lost. It was 
a dangerous thing thus to commit himself to the water, 
but he gave no heed to the matter. Diving to the bottom 
he presently appeared above water again, bringing up the 
dead body of — not the tapir, but a deer ! The animal 
they had started to hunt had made good its escape at 
the bend in the river, while the unfortunate deer, at that 
moment engaged in swimming the stream, had taken its 
place as the victim. 

One night the Englishman had another disturbance 

at his separate little hut, this time not from the intrusion 

292 



WILD LIFE ON THE PARANA 

of an ocelot. Hearing a noise in the gloom of night, he 
peered through the chinks and saw a dark object approach- 
ing through the bush. It was coming at a headlong pace, 
and was making straight for the hut. Whether it would 
pass to the right or to the left the watcher could not tell, 
but he held his gun ready. Before he could use it, the 
beast — he could now make out by the outline that it was 
a tapir — ran with great force right upon one of the 
corner posts, almost knocking the whole structure down. 
The surveyor sprang out of bed, and rushed out with a 
shout. This had the effect of bringing up his men, and 
a search was made for the tapir, but without success. 
When the daylight appeared, the corner post was examined, 
and was found to have on it a tuft of greyish-coloured 
hair. It was evident that it had not been left by the 
tapir, which is of a different hue, and the men pronounced 
the hair to be that of a jaguar. It was now clear that 
the tapir had been closely chased by a jaguar, and that 
when in its fright it had cannoned against the post, 
the pursuer, unable to stop himself or turn his course, 
had also come into violent collision with the same 
obstacle. Probably the two impacts had occurred so 
nearly together that the occupant of the hut felt but one 
heavy jar. The correctness of the theory propounded 
by the men was shown a little later on in the morning. 
The party killed a tapir not far away, and the marks on 
its back showed that it had been badly mauled by a 
jaguar. 

Of snake adventures the surveying expedition had 

more than enough. Probably not the least alarming of 

293 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

them must have been that when, without warning, a 
deadly cobra dropped from a branch above into a canoe 
in which was a solitary man. That the man sprang out 
into the river as the cobra tumbled in, we may well 
believe, notwithstanding the fact that to fall into the 
water was almost as risky as to remain in the tiny boat 
with the cobra. 

Note. — From Bigg- Wither' s Pioneering in South Brazil, by kind permission 
from Mr. John Murray. 



294 



XXVI 

AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

Sir Henry Stanley, the discoverer of Livingstone — He sets himself to 
explore the great Congo river — Starts from the Tanganyika country — 
"Within three degrees of the Equator — A brush with the natives at 
Unya-N'singe — Frank Pocock — Poisoned arrows — Capture of three 
native women — -Blood-brotherhood — Stanley occupies market-green of 
a village on bank — A terrific fight from behind the stockade — A night 
of fear — A village seized — Strongly fortified — A vain effort by the 
blacks to storm the camp — A second and more formidable attack — 
Stanley's men show admirable steadiness and pluck — A bad half-hour 
— Arrival of Tippu-Tib with reinforcements — Stanley makes a desperate 
resolve — Enemy's canoes cut adrift in the night and captured — Stanley 
dictates terms to the baffled negroes — Blood-brotherhood ceremonies 
— End of a memorable struggle. 

Among the long roll of British explorers, few have 
attained to greater fame than Sir Henry Stanley, the 
intrepid discoverer of Livingstone. His pluck, his dash, 
his resourcefulness, must at any rate be admitted to 
have been extraordinary. 

All the world knows how the man set himself a task, 
the magnitude of which cannot well be overstated, namely, 
the tracking to its mysterious end that vast Central 
African river which had been named the Livingstone. Its 
sources in Lake Tanganyika and the hill country of the 
eastern parts of the continent were known ; its latter 
course and the ultimate destination of its mighty floods 
were utterly unknown. 

From the very first the difficulties and dangers at every 

turn made the task almost hopeless — the hardships, the 

295 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

fever, the hostility of the natives, to say nothing of lesser 

but still very real trials, combining to make it so. Worse 

than all, the river itself seemed bent on defeating Stanley's 

ambitious project. For months of their wanderings the 

great stream kept on perversely and unaccountably to 

northward, and when the explorers had approached Unya- 

N'singe, a place within three degrees of the equator itself, 

there was not the smallest sign of a turning westward on 

the part of the Livingstone. It seemed quite possible 

now, that the river might prove to be a feeder of the 

Niger, or even of the ancient Nile. Yet it might equally 

turn towards the setting sun after all, and empty its 

waters into the Atlantic, through that vast river mouth 

known on the coast as the Congo. Nevertheless, the 

traveller determined to proceed, in the face of all obstacles 

and disappointments. Little could he have foreseen the 

thrilling experiences of even the next few days. 

Hardly had the exploring expedition reached Unya- 

N'singe when the noise of war-horns sounded from the 

right bank. About four in the afternoon eight large 

canoes were seen coming up the river, along the islands in 

mid-stream, and half-a-dozen more under the left bank. 

Instantly the canoes formed in line of battle in front of 

Stanley's camp, and near a small islet, a quarter of a mile 

away. The savages shouted to the party to come out to 

combat in the middle of the river. The commander 

replied through his interpreter that he had but one boat, 

and five canoes full of sick folk, and that, moreover, he had 

come with friendly intent, an announcement received by 

the natives with laughter and jeers. It was plain that 

another struggle was at hand. 

296 



AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

There was now only one Englishman among Stanley's 
party, Frank Pocock, a sturdy son of Kent, and a skilled 
Medway waterman to boot, the sole survivor of three who 
had started from England as lieutenants to the gallant 
explorer. The main body of the attendants were the 
Wangwana, or freemen, of the Zanzibar district, con- 
spicuous amongst whom was Uledi, the coxswain. The 
rest of the party were natives and their families hired as 
occasion required. 

Another moment and the canoes were dashing forward 
to the combat with wild yells from the occupants, who, 
when they had approached within fifty yards, began the 
fray by sending a flight of poisoned arrows. These came 
from only half the native canoes, however, the other half 
continuing to paddle inshore. 

Not a moment was to be lost. As the savages were 
about to land they received the contents of some thirty 
muskets, a reception that was evidently not one they 
could stand, for they immediately fell back to a respectful 
distance. Stanley followed at once, with a well-chosen 
boat's crew. Orders were given to the men left on shore 
to keep up the firing meanwhile. The enemy yelled with 
delight at this move. But their exultation was short- 
lived, for the boat being now within easy reach, the guns 
did terrible execution among them. A minute of this hot 
work decided the day, and the wild foes turned tail and 
fled, paddling desperately down the stream. 

This first affair with the people of Wasongora Meno 
had terminated quickly and happily, to the intense satis- 
faction of the leader of the expedition. Three of his men 

297 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

had been struck by arrows, but the poison was neutralized 
by the application of caustic. 

" All's well that ends well," runs the old saying. But 
all was not ended in the way of hostile encounter with 
the savage tribes, nor likely to be ended yet on that long 
and adventurous voyage. Stanley remained on the alert, 
well knowing what he had to expect. He had not long to 
wait ; in truth, the next few days were passed in almost 
constant conflict. 

Opposite Mutako, a settlement a little lower down the 
river, the cannibals made another and a brilliant dash, and 
things would have gone hard with the exploring party but 
for the watchfulness and well-planned precautions of the 
intrepid leader. The people of Mpika, a neighbouring 
district, mustered in large numbers, beating their drums 
and blowing their war-horns with every sign of hostility. 
To all appearance matters had come to a desperate pass. 

Luckily, however, Stanley's scouts managed to catch 
cleverly three native women, fine creatures, who had come 
to the ferry. These captives he gave up on condition that 
the savages should make blood-brotherhood. So the 
journey was resumed amidst shouts from the shore of 
Mwende Kivuke-vuke, " Go in peace." 

More serious times were at hand for the expedition, 
unfortunately. Only ten miles lower down the stream a 
man in one of the hospital canoes suddenly gave a great 
shriek, and an arrow was seen sticking in his chest, while 
other arrows came near to striking the leader himself. 

Pulling hard down the river, Stanley and his men 

were lucky enough to find the market-green of a village 

298 



AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

untenanted, and here boat and canoes were quickly drawn 
inshore. Then, while ten scouts were sent into the jungle 
to keep watch, the rest, about thirty men all told, pro- 
ceeded to fortify the place. The fellows worked desper- 
ately, well knowing that the alternative was to be eaten, 
and that speedily. Strong fences of brushwood were 
placed round the camp, the dense hedges furnishing good 
shelter for the riflemen. 

The scouts came running in with shouts of " Prepare, 
prepare, they are coming!" and immediately the fifty 
yards or so of cleared space outside the camp was filled 
with hundreds of natives. From all sides except the 
river Stanley was beset, the savages being clearly of 
opinion that he and his men were flying through fear. 

" But they were mistaken," writes Sir Henry, " for we 
were at bay, and desperate in our resolve not to die 
without fighting. Accordingly, at such close quarters 
the contest soon became terrific. Again and again the 
savages hurled themselves upon our stockade, launching 
spear after spear with deadly force into the camp, to be 
each time repulsed. Sometimes the muzzles of our guns 
almost touched their breasts. The shrieks, cries, shouts 
of encouragement, the rattling volleys of musketry, the 
booming war-horns, the yells and defiance of the com- 
batants, the groans and screams of the women and 
children in the hospital camp, made together such a 
medley of hideous noises as can never be effaced from 
my memory." 

It was a desperate conflict, so desperate, indeed, that 
the Wangwana would have run to the boats and made off, 
had not Pocock and Uledi driven them back with clubbed 

299 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

muskets. The fight lasted for two whole hours, and even 
after dusk, when the enemy retreated into the bush again, 
the hideous noise of war-horn and drum continued. " Now 
and again," says Stanley, " a vengeful poison-arrow flew 
by with an ominous whizz to quiver in the earth at our 
feet, or fall harmlessly into the river behind us." 

Sleep was of course impossible under such conditions ; 
worse, Stanley's men were in so despairing and demoralized 
a state, that not even the fear of being eaten could rouse 
them to a manly and determined resistance. Kettles of 
cold water had to be poured on the heads of many of 
them, even, to keep them awake that fearful night. 

At any moment an attack might be made by the 
savages. A little before midnight, those on the alert 
within perceived a dark form crawling on all fours from 
the scrub towards the camp, and the watchful coxswain, 
Uledi, slipped with a couple of companions through a thin 
place in the hedge to meet him. Soon Uledi sprang upon 
the prostrate savage. But a warning rustle in the bush 
showed that the fellow's comrades were at hand the three 
men slipped back into the camp, and a midnight encounter 
began. 

This affair was short but sharp. Fast fell the rain of 

arrows from the enemy, who, in return, were met with a 

hail of shot, bullets, and slugs, that swept all the edge of 

the jungle, the besieged well protected the while by the 

brushwood fence. The natives were speedily overcome, 

and the conflict ceased for the time, though an occasional 

poisoned arrow flew within the stockade, yet harmlessly, 

the fence making excellent cover as the defenders crouched 

low behind it. 

300 



AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

Next morning, Stanley, after such scanty breakfast as 
the camp could afford, proceeded in a boat to explore the 
neighbourhood. What was his surprise to find himself in 
unpleasantly close proximity to a large town, which, like 
other towns he had met with above, consisted of a series 
of villages dotted in a line uniformly along the bank of 
the river. That it was a populous place was evident from 
its size, while the extensive plantations of palms and 
bananas around proved the settlement to be a flourishing 
one. Stanley bethought himself that this must be the 
district of the formidable chief of Vinya-Njara, a ruler 
whose forces were so great, according to native reports, 
that it would be utterly impossible to pass his territory. 
The position of affairs for the exploring party was rapidly 
becoming as grave as it well could be. 

The ready-witted leader determined that his wisest 
plan would be to seize the first of the long line of villages, 
a step absolutely necessary, in truth, not only that the 
sick might be housed, but also that communication might 
be kept up with the land division, so soon as it should 
appear. This land portion of Stanley's company was 
under the command of Tippu-Tib, an Arab chief, and a 
Zanzibari trader, a man of resource and courage. He and 
his little troop were daily expected. 

As the explorers had not dared to unload the boats, in 
a moment all had taken their seats, and a start was made, 
regardless of the showers of arrows that fell around. 
Fortune attended the operations, and the village was 
successfully rushed and occupied, evidently to the no small 
surprise and chagrin of the cannibals. Luckily the village 
was empty, and the commander quickly perceived that a 

301 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

few felled trees at either end of the compound would make 
the place defensible. 

But now the natives, pulling themselves together again 
after their first surprise, made desperate efforts to dislodge 
the new-comers. The chief aim of Stanley was to guard 
the two ends of the village, and there an incessant firing 
was kept up, while sharpshooters, hidden in the foliage of 
tall trees, were able to pick off any savage who might show 
himself in the open or near the edge of the bush, thus 
efficiently protecting the rear of the settlement. All the 
while the sick in the camp, for the first time for many 
hours, had ample space in which to move about. 

It was impossible that this violent conflict could last, 
and Stanley, making a sortie with five-and-twenty men, 
succeeded in clearing the outskirts of the village. The 
rest of the day was passed in comparative peace. Luckily 
in the sally one prisoner had been made, and Stanley 
welcomed the prize, intending to use the man, if it should 
be possible, in negotiations for peace. 

The day was spent in strenuous exertions to strengthen 
the camp. While the scouts protected the ends of the 
enclosure, the remainder spent several hours in cutting 
down all cover, in the shape of grass and weeds, for a 
space of a hundred yards around the settlement. More- 
over, nests, or commanding shelters, for the riflemen were 
contrived at either end of the village, being placed in the 
trees at a height of fifteen feet from the ground. 

A terrific " bo-bo-ing " came with the dawn of another 

day, and the savages, who had never been wholly quiet 

through the night, at once made a fierce assault. Thanks 

to the precautions that had been taken, however, they 

302 



AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

found their efforts in vain, and they were fain to retreat 
to the jungle again, evidently beyond measure surprised 
to see the magnitude of the preparations that had been 
made within so short a time. They now kept up a 
deafening din with their war-horns. 

The war cry, by the way, was strange to the explorers. 
Hitherto they had heard cries of "Ooh-hu-hu, ooh-hu, 
ooh-hu-hu," but now the shout of defiance was a singular 

o 

"Bo-bo, bo-bo, bo-bo-o-o-oh," a cry listened to, even by 
the Africans of the party, with curiosity. They were in a 
new territory, in fact, and that the territory of one of the 
most formidable of the cannibal chiefs, the terrible ruler 
of Vinya-Njara. All the fighting hitherto experienced 
by the exploring party was but as child's play in com- 
parison with what was clearly close at hand. 

About noon an enormous gathering of canoes was seen 
coming up the river under the left bank. The mass of 
blacks was so great that there might well have been any- 
thing up to eight hundred or a thousand of them. The 
canoes kept on their course, passing the village, till they 
were a good half-mile above. Then, with the current in 
their favour, they swooped down upon the settlement, 
amid the din of war-horns and drums. ' At the same 
instant, away in the forest, resounded answering cries. 
Clearly it was a concerted affair. Scarcely had the 
occupants of the village time to place themselves in 
position when, from the woods behind, poured ' in a hail 
of arrows. 

Now was found the advantages of the nests erected at 
the ends of the enclosure. The ten men in each were able 
to keep the besiegers at bay on the land side. Of these 

303 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

stations Frank Pocock and Sheikh Abdallah, another of 
the Zanzibar Arabs of the party, were respectively in 
command. Stanley himself undertook the heavy task 
of defending the river bank, with twenty men to help 
him. 

This was by far the most serious position in which the 
expedition had yet found itself, a state of affairs that had 
been clearly foreseen, however. Every man was well 
aware that if he did not fight with the utmost desperation, 
his headless body would quickly be flung into the rolling 
waters of the river. Fortunately, even the most demoral- 
ized of them began to be animated with reviving courage. 
Moreover, they felt their superiority, man for man, to the 
enemy, in itself a thing to bring back lost heart. And 
the many lucky escapes they had had tended to produce 
in them a feeling that they were invulnerable. To the 
delight of the leader, he perceived how signally his 
followers were now distinguishing themselves. Surely, 
even these poor fellows, of low and undeveloped type, 
had in them the making of good men. Much, indeed, 
had been already accomplished. The few months of 
training and sharp service they had experienced, and the 
leadership of hardy and intelligent white men, had made 
of them trustworthy soldiers. These last few days, it is 
true, had been trying in the extreme, but the experience 
had done wonders for all who had gone through it. 

In the face of such overwhelming numbers of the enemy, 

this change of attitude and behaviour on the part of his 

men was in the highest degree cheering to Stanley, who 

delightedly observed that every single man among them 

was desirous of emulating even Uledi, the intrepid cox- 

304 



AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

swain. This, too, notwithstanding the frightful, exulting 
din that proceeded from the savages, a din that came from 
men clearly accustomed to triumph in battle. 

For half-an-hour the fighting went on, the energy 
displayed being desperate, and intense because it was 
desperate. The abundance of ammunition enabled the 
besieged to work terrible havoc among their savage foes. 
Nothing but the direst necessity could have justified that 
fearful slaughter. Certainly the numbers of the cannibal 
savages were so overwhelming that there must have 
seemed little doubt in the minds of the defenders as to 
the ultimate issue of the struggle. As it was, it is clear 
that had there been a trifle more of odds against the 
leader, neither he nor his gallant companions would ever 
again have been heard of. Humanly speaking, they were 
doomed, and doomed to a horrible fate. 

But help was at hand. At a most critical moment, the 
advance-guard of the land division, under Tippu-Tib, 
appeared. The warning blasts from the horns of the 
natives on shore, to their brethren in the canoes, showed 
that the arrival of reinforcements for the camp had been 
perceived. At the actual moment of that arrival the 
savages were putting forth most desperate and deter- 
mined efforts to make good a landing. That once effected, 
the fate of the expedition would have been sealed. Now, 
on the receipt of the signals from their comrades on shore, 
the canoemen paddled away. Even so they did not leave 
without yells of contempt and defiance, supplemented by 
the throwing of water from their paddles towards the 
explorers, an action intended to show their scorn for 

their foes. Then, with loud shouts that they were 
20 305 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

determined to prevent all passage, either up or down 
stream, they disappeared from view, hidden by an island 
about a mile away, and opposite the camp, leaving the 
defenders at peace for a time, indeed, but in a very bad 
plight. Want of food, want of sleep, and the heavy and 
exciting work of the last three days had told their tale. 

Stanley now called together his followers, to the number 
of forty or so. Distributing cloth to them, he pointed out 
that as the savages had retired no farther away than the 
back of the island opposite, they clearly meant another 
attack. They would not improbably add largely to their 
numbers during the night. At all costs and risks this 
fresh attack must be prevented. 

Stanley was, in fact, preparing for an exploit which 
stands out for boldness and cleverness, even amongst his 
adventurous deeds. The commander proposed, in short, 
to make a night expedition, and cut the canoes adrift. 
That operation successfully performed, the natives would 
have no option but to abandon their assault next day. 

"Besides," concluded Stanley, "if we can do the job in 
a complete way, the enormous loss of canoes will have 
such an effect on them that it will clear our progress 
down the river." 

A counsel of desperation it seemed ; yet there was no 
hesitation on the part of the followers. The chief re- 
sponsibility, of course, rested on the two white men — the 
leader himself, and his lieutenant, Frank Pocock. The 
latter was given his choice of crews. He was to take four 
canoes, carrying some score of men, and proceed to the 
south of the islet, behind which lay the boats of the 
enemy. There Frank was to spread out his boats across 

306 



AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

the channel, between the island and the river bank. The 
commander himself would make for the north end of the 
island, and then, seeking out the native canoes in the 
darkness, cut them adrift. These, as they floated down- 
stream, were to be intercepted and retained by Frank. 
Such was the extraordinary plan. 

A dark and blustering night it proved, and so far 
nothing could have been better for the purpose in view. 
With muffled oars, Stanley and Pocock set out at the hour 
of deepest sleep, the latter to take up the position assigned 
to him at the southern end of the islet, the former to begin 
his own hazardous operations. 

Keaching the spot, Stanley commenced to search the 
bank. Notwithstanding that a fire was seen in one place, 
he rowed cautiously inshore, and there found eight large 
canoes, each fastened to the bank by a short length of 
cable. They were soon set free Uledi and two of the 
Zanzibar Arabs, Bwana Abdallah and Hamadi, being of 
the utmost assistance to their audacious leader. A light 
push to each canoe sent it gliding down the stream. 
Following on, Stanley soon descried four others and 
these likewise he sent adrift. 

How risky this enterprise was may be gathered from the 
fact that, as the numerous fires showed, the bulk of the 
savages were camped on the islet itself. The boat's party 
could hear the sound of the voices and the shivering 
coughs ; they could even note the baleful effects on the 
savages of the pernicious Ihang, a sort of wild hemp, 
smoked by many African natives. 

Nevertheless, keeping well in the blackness, under the 

steep banks and the overhanging trees, Stanley and his 

307 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

companions glided on their way, all unperceived. Canoe 
after canoe was set free, its paddles and scoops aboard, 
and sent down-stream, there to be stopped in due course 
by the vigilant Frank. 

The result of this extraordinary and exciting expedition 
was the capture of no fewer than six-and-thirty canoes, 
many of them of the largest size. These were still to be 
conveyed to the camp, of course. Stanley hoisted sail in 
his own boat, and with ten of the prizes in tow made his 
way up-stream and successfully brought them to shore 
within the limits of his own defence- works. Leaving this 
first batch of captures in charge of the Wangwana, the 
commander immediately went back to Frank, who made 
known his whereabouts by blowing a trumpet. By five 
in the morning all was finished, and the camp was reached 
with the last set of captured craft. Rarely has been 
recorded a more successful night expedition than this. 
And the exploit had been wholly a bloodless one. 

And what of the cannibals ? A visit was made to the 
island again a few hours later. To the astonishment 
of the exploring party the spot was almost entirely 
abandoned ! The overwhelming swarm of fierce blacks 
had disappeared ! There were but two or three left, in 
fact, and to these Stanley began to talk through his 
interpreters. 

And here comes the most surprising part of the whole 

narrative. With marvellous pluck and self-confidence, 

the leader of the expedition dictated to the remnant of 

the natives his conditions. They were these. Unless 

the blacks came to terms, and desisted from all further 

hostilities, the commander declared he would seize upon 

308 



AMONG THE CONGO CANNIBALS 

and occupy Viuya-Njara ; he would also keep the whole 
of the canoes he had captured ! 

Surely never was conqueror more arrogant ! And this 
from a man who could oppose but the merest handful 
of troops, and some of them sick, to a horde of cruel and 
determined cannibals, outnumbering his own forces by at 
least twenty — perhaps fifty — to one ! Stanley added, that 
if blood-brotherhood should be made, on the other hand, 
he would set free the prisoner he held. He proposed a 
meeting in mid-stream, two canoes, with the chiefs from 
each side, to come to the rendezvous. 

The natives replied that in the absence of their principal 
chiefs they would be unable to give a reply till the follow- 
ing day. Stanley, nevertheless, showed his good disposi- 
tion towards them by throwing them presents of shells. 

The meeting took place at the appointed time, and the 
blood-brotherhood ceremony was duly performed between 
the king of Vinya-Njara, and Safeni, the chieftain of a 
tribe from farther east, whom, with certain of his men, 
Stanley had hired. Twenty- four of the canoes were 
purchased by the expedition at a satisfactory price; the 
rest, with the single prisoner, were given back to the 
natives. 

Thus was ended a harassing and terrible time, and a 
desperate struggle, a struggle that must ever remain 
memorable as one of the bravest things of its kind on 
record. 



309 



XXVII 

THE WILD YUKON 

Mr. Pike, with two friends, ascends the Stikine River — Description of canoe 
used — The current tremendous — Heavy hauling — Hard to keep to 
true river course — " Little Canon " — Almost insuperable difficulties — 
"Whites and Indians in concert to navigate the "Little Canon" — 
Canoe drill — Success at last, and a better part of river reached — A 
seventy mile portage to Francis Lake — Intense cold of winter — 
Dangers attending it — A broken rifle and a grizzly bear — MapofPelly 
River rectified by Mr. Pike — Yukon navigation — Portage into the 
Kuskokvim — Voyage down to Behring's Sea — Then on to Ounalaska 
Island. 

Of the great rivers of our globe, few are less known than 
those of the North-west corner of the North American 
continent, of which the Yukon is the largest. There 
are obvious reasons for this — the distance from civiliza- 
tion, the rigours of the climate, and the difficulties 
and dangers attending the navigation of these great 
streams. These difficulties and dangers are well illus- 
trated in Mr. Warburton Pike's charming account of his 
long canoe voyages up to the Stikine River, to the Pelly 
Lakes, and down the Yukon to the Behring's Sea. 

Mr. Pike's business in these rapid but often frozen 
waters was a geological survey for the Canadian Govern- 
ment, and he had with him a brother Canadian, Mr. 
Gladman, and Mr. Reed, a big-game hunting English- 
man. These three gentlemen travelled without attendants, 

310 



THE WILD YUKON 

the prices asked by the Indians for their services being 
absurdly exorbitant. 

The canoe used for the expedition was only eighteen 
feet long, three feet six wide, and twenty inches deep, 
with a total weight of one hundred and thirty lbs., a 
small craft, apparently, for the rough work cut out for it. 
Yet this little boat successfully navigated no less than 
four thousand miles of water, was dragged on sledges 
over a couple of hundred miles of rough forest land, was 
carried on men's shoulders for long distances, yet came 
out into the sea again in excellent condition, having 
needed but one insignificant bit of repairs during the 
whole journey, an almost unique achievement for such 
a boat, one would think. 

It was a hard matter for the canoeists to get away from 
Fort Wrangel, the miners insisting on treating the ad- 
venturous trio to one farewell drink after another. But 
at last the travellers found themselves fairly in the Stikine 
river, between two breadths of dense forest. The sources 
of this Stikine River are as yet unknown to civilized man. 
The current is tremendous. Mr. Pike says : " We were 
unable to make headway with the paddles against the 
current, in mid-stream, at any point in the hundred and 
fifty miles ; so that we had always to creep along the 
bank that seemed most likely to offer slack water." 

It was impossible to get out and tow the boat up against 

the stream in this stretch of the Stikine, the trees growing 

up to the very edge of the banks, leaving no room for a 

beach of any sort. Often a tree had fallen across the 

stream, and it became necessary to round the obstruction. 

This meant leaving the safe slack water at the sides of the 

311 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

river and getting out into the full rush of the current. 
Then, even after the fallen tree had been passed, it was 
frequently just a toss-up whether the canoe would not be 
driven back upon it, her nose under the prostrate trunk. 
This would have resulted in instant and serious disaster 
for the party. Then, too, the Stikine was far too deep 
for poleing. Sometimes the boat had to be pulled along 
by main force, the crew hanging hard on to the over- 
hanging bushes. Or, again, a rope would have to be made 
fast to some tree a little ahead on the brink, and the craft 
hauled up-stream hand over hand. All this involved 
heavy work, and no little loss of time, the rope frequently 
getting fouled with a snag or bit of hidden rock. 

It was not always easy to keep on the true river, islands 
often parting the stream into several branches. A long 
paddle up one of these branches would now and then 
result in the discovery that the party had pulled them- 
selves into a backwater, from which there was no egress 
save by the way they had come. And every evening the 
boat had to be unloaded and drawn clear of the stream, 
the risk of damage from floating logs during the night 
being too great. 

For a time the canoeists had fine weather. Then a pour- 
ing wet period set in with its discomforts. It was useless 
to wait for fair weather, for that might mean a delay of a 
whole month. They pushed on, therefore, now in company 
with a party of Indians, who had left Fort Wrangel in 
their canoe a couple of days later than Mr. Pike and his 
friends. 

A serious difficulty had presently to be tackled — the 

passage of the Little Canon, a short but formidable gorge 

312 



THE WILD YUKON 

in the Stikine. It is narrow, and on either side it is 
hemmed in by high rocky cliffs. Whites and Indians had 
now to help each other, that was plain, if the passage were 
to be made at all, a thing that seemed to the voyagers very 
unlikely, judging from the look of the place. The river at 
this point is not more than fifty yards wide, the granite 
cliffs on both banks towering up to a height of two or 
three hundred feet. Portage of the canoes was out of the 
question, for it would have involved the cutting of a track 
through a mile of thick burnt timber, and over a rough 
hill. 

The first attempt to pass the lower eddies proved a dead 
failure, hoisted sail and the most desperate paddling of 
nine men not at all availing against the strength of the 
current. Again and again, after a trifling headway made, 
the canoe was flung back like a mere cork into the lower 
waters. 

Next day a different method was tried. Three men 

remained in the boat that was to be hauled up, while the 

rest, carrying a long line to the top of the cliffs, dragged 

the canoe and its occupants bodily over the lower falls. 

After a hard fight a quarter of a mile was gained in this 

way. Then it became necessary to pass to the opposite 

bank. The men in the boat pushed off from the cliff, 

hoping to cross the river and catch the slack water of an 

eddy on the other side. Unluckily they missed the eddy, 

and but for a shout of " Back water ! " they would have 

been the next instant on a sharp point of rock. Helpless, 

the men saw their craft carried down the stream again, 

and in a minute or two, after an exciting and arrow-like 

rush, they found themselves opposite the spot whence they 

313 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

had that morning started, all the heavy hauling having 
resulted in nothing. 

The captain of the Indians now took up the case, and 
each morning and afternoon turned out the whole of the 
men, whites as well as reds, for canoe drill. Four days 
were spent in this exercise, and often the boat was within 
a trifle of getting through, yet as often it was at last forced 
back, and failure resulted. 

When the fifth morning came, the Indians all appeared 
with faces newly and brilliantly painted. One fellow, not 
a particularly exemplary person, but an excellent bowsman, 
came out in most gorgeous scarlet. It was evident the 
Indians meant succeeding this time. The long drill had 
made the crews acquainted with every inch of the cliffs 
and with the peculiarities of the current at various critical 
points. The prognostications of the natives were not 
falsified. By great good fortune no mistake or mishap 
occurred this time, and in six hours the boats had both 
been drawn clear of the canon, and, as it proved, into 
quite a different kind of country. The Little Canon is 
said to be only a trifle more than half-a-mile in length, 
yet its passage had involved the spending of several days, 
and hard and dangerous work for a strong force of men. 

Above this formidable gorge the voyagers for a time 
found the conditions a good deal better than they had 
been of late. Often they were able to hoist a bit of sail, 
and, under a good breeze, to get along in spanking fashion. 
Yet even this had its dangers, for in places where the 
current was specially rapid, the canoe, instead of making 
progress, would bury its nose under water. And it re- 
quired extreme watchfulness on the part of the crew to 

314 




Days passed before they contrived to tow it through the Canon 

The Little Canon is a short but formidable gorge on the Stikine. It is narrow, and hemmed in by rocky 
cliffs on either side. The passage involved hard and dangerous work for a strong force of men. 



THE WILD YUKON 

prevent their boat from being filled and sunk before they 
had fully realized the danger. A very nasty stretch was 
met with near Glenora, where the current runs eight 
knots an hour in mid -stream. More than one fatal 
accident was known to have happened there, but Mr. 
Pike and his friends passed the reach without accident. 

A heavy bit of portage had now to be arranged for. 
The whites desired to get to Francis Lake, seventy miles 
distant. They had been prepared to do the portage them- 
selves, not at all expecting to be able to hire the required 
hands in the district. However, a couple of Indians under- 
took the job, and carried out everything satisfactorily. 
The boat and all the other belongings of the voyagers 
were carried across the intervening country on the backs 
of five mules. 

Winter came on by November, and everything was 
speedily fast-frozen. Yet life on the banks of the Dease 
River, to which the travellers had by this time come, was 
found to be on the whole pleasant enough. The scenery 
around was strikingly beautiful, and the game was abund- 
ant. True, the cold had to be reckoned with, and that 
was at times intense, the thermometer one day (in 
February) indicating 68° of frost ! Mr. Pike, with 
another man, went out hunting that very day, following 
the river Liard for miles, perspiring much from his exer- 
tions. Later on, however, when the hunter was hungry 
and weary, the cold seized him in its grip. There was no 
time to be lost, or the consequences would have been 
fatal, and that very soon. So, leaving his rifle, Mr. Pike 
started to run back to the camp, fully ten miles away. 

His hard running did not suffice to warm him, and he 

315 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

arrived home in a sorry state, his nose and cheeks badly 
frozen. 

It is never safe, the traveller states, for a man to go out 
alone into the woods in such extreme temperatures. The 
least accident that delays his progress, or even a simple 
wetting from the breaking of a bit of thin ice, means 
death, unless the sufferer can light a fire at once. So 
intense and so powerful is the cold that the moment a 
man grasps the handle of a tool, such as an axe, a layer of 
ice forms between the outer part of his mittens and the 
inside lining. In such a case he cannot use his hand even 
to strike a match. At night, with a good fire, the tra- 
vellers in those regions may manage to make themselves 
tolerably comfortable. But there is always an unwilling- 
ness to turn out to replenish the fire when it is beginning 
to burn low, each man pretending to be fast asleep, whereas 
he is all the while peeping out of the corner of his eye to 
see if any of his mates will be more self-sacrificing than 
himself. 

Of game hunting there was always plenty, the moose 
being especially in request for its flesh. Birds of various 
kinds were numerous, particularly when the spring came 
on. Fish of many sorts were to be had for the catching. 
Now and then more important game in the shape of a 
huge bear came the way of the voyagers. But out in 
these far-off spots an accident may at any moment occur, 
and bring with it serious results, though the same sort of 
accident in a civilized and populous country would be a 
matter of no account. 

On a certain occasion Mr. Pike left his rifle below 

while he went up a hill to collect geological specimens. 

316 



THE WILD YUKON 

Before long he observed his companion throw down upon 
the gun a heavy log of firewood. The result was a broken 
stock, and the inside mechanism badly damaged, and no 
tools at hand to repair it. An attempt to patch up the 
broken weapon resulted in this : the gun missed fire three 
times out of four, an awkward result for a man who has 
to depend on his rifle for his dinner. How much more 
awkward it may be under certain circumstances Mr. Pike 
soon found. This was later on in his journeyings, in the 
neighbourhood of Hoole Canon, a few miles below the 
Hoole River. 

He was sitting quietly smoking one evening, above the 
wild gorge, when a grizzly bear came out of the woods, and 
he determined to stalk the animal if possible. But the 
bear came near to him much more quickly than he had 
expected, and the hunter was surprised to see him eating 
berries from a bush but a few yards away. Raising his 
rifle to his shoulder, the Canadian pulled the trigger. The 
thing would not go off. Five times the cartridge snapped, 
but, luckily for the man, the animal went on with his 
currants. Then Mr. Pike inserted a fresh cartridge, but 
at the same moment the bear trotted off, having, as the 
traveller puts it, " come to the conclusion that he had 
given me enough chances." The bear made for a grove 
of poplars, and " when he was well among the trees the 
rifle roared off in grand style, and, of course, missed the 
bear. A fighting grizzly, such as are always encountered 
by the whisky-shop bear-hunters of the West, would have 
had a splendid opportunity of displaying his powers that 
evening at Hoole Canon." Thus light-heartedly did the 
sportsman regard the risks he ran. 

317 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

In the course of his travels in this wild and little known 
country, Mr. Pike was able to rectify the maps of the 
Pelly and Yukon rivers. He proved that the Pelly is a 
much longer and more important river than had been 
hitherto thought. Moreover, he found that the same 
river has a far greater claim to be considered the main 
branch of the Yukon than has the Lewes, which up to 
that time had been reckoned to be the superior stream 
of the two. In other words, the Lewes must now be 
considered to run into the Pelly, and not the Pelly into 
the Lewes. 

Proceeding down the Yukon the canoeist came in one 

place to a spot where the roar of waters told of dangers 

ahead. Leaving the boat, some of the party went to look, 

and found a bad bit of rapids, with many scattered rocks at 

the upper end and very rough water at the lower. The 

current was strong and there were no slack eddies. Once 

fairly launched on this bit of water, the canoe must go. The 

risks in such a spot and under the conditions were serious 

enough. The party were five hundred miles from the 

nearest trading post, and the results of an accident would 

be more than serious. Capsizing meant the loss not only 

of the boat, but of everything. Even if the half-drowned 

and shivering crew should manage to save their lives and 

find their way to shore, what a predicament would theirs 

be ! They would not have even matches for lighting a 

fire, and that in the Yukon district ! They would have 

nothing to eat, and no gun to get themselves anything. 

As for axe to build some sort of raft or boat, that would 

also be out of the question. 

Fortunately for Mr. Pike and those with him, none of 

318 



THE WILD YUKON 

these dire results came. Using a line, they carefully- 
lowered the boat from point to point. The worst part of 
the rapids, it was wisely thought, might best be avoided 
by portage, and the canoe was carried for a quarter of a 
mile into navigable waters again. 

The width of the Yukon lower down its course becomes 
enormous, the miners putting it at anything between ten 
miles and seventy. But the navigation at length grew 
terribly monotonous to the canoeists, although they could 
easily make eighty or a hundred miles a day with good 
paddling. Eventually they turned off and marched across 
country to the River Kuskokvim, and thence made their 
way to the salt sea once more. Even then the plucky 
Canadian was not satisfied, but, in spite of all evil pro- 
phecies, actually navigated his canoe along the open sea 
to the island of Ounalaska, one of the Aleutian group. 



319 



XXVIII 

KLONDYKE MINERS ON THE RAPIDS 

The rush to Klondyke — Voyage out to Juneau, in Alaska — Chilcoot Pass 
— Break up of ice — The Eva launched — A leak repaired — Voyage down 
the Yukon begun- — Miles Canon — Three men in a boat come to grief — 
The Eva ventures the passage and accomplishes it — The "White Horse 
Rapids — An inspection — A trial trip by a log — A thrilling experience 
— Safely through — Mosquitoes terrible — Dawson City reached — Cabin 
built outside the town — No success in getting claims for gold-mining 
— A miner brings a dead body to be taken care of — The leader of the 
Canadian mining party leaves Klondyke — By steamboat down the 
Yukon — Stranded on a sand-bar — Passengers taken off and carried to 
Behring's Sea. 

The expedition to Klondyke, which was the dream of so 

many a few years ago, was essentially a river expedition, 

though all the world did not always bear the fact in mind. 

That it was an expedition entailing terrible hardships 

and much danger all the world did know. These dangers 

and hardships are well shown by the amusing but graphic 

description of his journey to Klondyke — a voyage, it should 

rather be called — given us by a Canadian gentleman, 

Mr. Secretan, who went out in 1897, in charge of a 

mining party. 

Passing over the sea voyage from Victoria, in British 

Columbia, to Juneau, in Alaska, and a subsequent coasting 

extension to Dyea, we may turn at once to the land 

journey over the dreadful Chilcoot Pass and down to the 

320 



KLONDYKE MINERS 

waters of Lake Lindermann, where it was intended to 
launch the canoes the party proposed to build. For a few 
miles the goods could be carried on flat-bottomed boats 
up the Dyea River to the foot of the pass. The pass 
itself proved a terrible experience for all the struggling 
multitudes who had to face it. Chilcoot Pass is always 
covered with snow ; it is exposed to the fiercest of winds ; 
and the ascent is steep to a degree the travellers had 
little expected. By the time the summit was reached, 
everybody was too exhausted and too wretched to carry 
on all the stuff they had brought up, and much of it was 
left on the top, to be routed out from under the snow 
later on. 

The summer was approaching, and the ice on river and 
lake was beginning to break up. It was a wonderful 
sight to see the great streams at this time. Huge masses 
of ice were swirling down to the sea, grinding against 
each other or against the banks in tumultuous fashion, 
and the gold-seekers had to wait till the last floes had 
whirled by and the water was clear. The hundreds of 
people waiting were all occupied in making craft of one 
sort or another — the most miscellaneous set of boats ever 
seen. 

At length, on a fine day, the first of June, Mr. Secretan 
launched his canoe, the Eva, and taking with him five 
other men and a dog he made haste to start. More than 
five hundred miles of waterway lay in front of the party 
before Klondyke could be reached. The Eva was twenty- 
six feet long and seven wide. It had been designed in a 
few minutes, and quickly made from green wood just cut 

down from the forest. 

21 321 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

It was found to leak badly at the very beginning, and 
even as the cargo was being put aboard by some of the 
hands others had to bale out the water. It was not a 
promising beginning, and when the crew had rounded the 
corner and got out of sight of the jeering mob who had 
watched the start, they pulled up for repairs. It was ten 
o'clock at night, but broad daylight. It was soon dis- 
covered that the carpenter had neglected to caulk one of 
the seams. The omission was made good, and the Eva 
was ready to proceed on her long voyage again. 

The course was north, almost due north, and when a 
southerly wind came along the canoe soon spun over the 
score of miles to Cariboo Crossing and Tahgish Lake. 
The leader now divided his crew into regular watches, 
four men always on duty, while two slept. Mr. Secretan 
tells us that as captain he himself did not keep watch, 
thereby missing much grand scenery. But he had always 
the pleasure of listening to a full account of it from the 
other men in the morning. 

Day after day passed, and the Eva was making good 

progress, her sailing qualities enabling her to pass the 

other boats going in the Klondyke direction. Marsh 

Lake and the Lewes River were duly traversed, till a red 

flag on the shore told of the near vicinity of the Miles 

Canon. The travellers had heard much of the famous 

" White Horse Rapids," which they would presently have 

to get past in some way. Nobody seemed to be able to 

give any very clear account of this dreaded obstruction. 

The leader of the little expedition failed utterly to glean 

any satisfactory information respecting the place — till he 

was face to face with the thing itself. 

322 



KLONDYKE MINERS 

Examining Miles Caiion, which came first, the captain 
of the mining party " came to the conclusion that it was 
perfectly easy, and could be run with comparative safety 
by the others ! " He preferred to watch the experiment 
about to be tried by three men in another boat, one an 
irrepressible Yankee, who acted as boss for the passage. 
This man assured his two scared companions that there 
wasn't the slightest particle of danger ; they had only not 
to be " skeared," but to look straight in front of them, 
and pull their best. 

The boat, which was a frail thing of very indifferent 
build and construction, was pushed out into the middle of 
the rushing current, while the Canadian and his men 
watched their neighbours from the bank. The boat shot 
away to the first drop or plunge, the Yankee shouting 
" Klondyke, or bust." In a moment the paddle had been 
forced from his hand, and he had fallen flat on his face 
into the bottom of the canoe. His mates were unable to 
use their paddles, and it was utterly impossible to guide 
the craft. She dashed into the frightful rollers, swung 
violently round, and then hurled herself with a crash 
against the rock wall of the canon. Fortunately the 
luckless but foolish three were picked up lower down the 
stream. Their looks told plainly that they had had enough 
of it. 

Miles Canon is only five-eighths of a mile long, but for 

that distance the whole of the water of the river has to 

pass through a narrow channel, and it dashes along with 

incredible speed, the water in mid-stream being four feet 

higher than that at the sides. Mr. Secretan, having a 

superior boat, ventured to run this bad bit of river after 

323 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

all, and arrived safely at the farther end in a minute and 
three-quarters ! His two smaller boats, canoes, he had 
carried over the canon along the bank. A mile and a 
half of very rough water, plentifully studded with rocks, 
followed, but here the party were able to tow the two 
canoes. 

The worst part of the stretch still remained to be faced, 
the fatal " White Horse." The leader went ashore and on 
ahead to look at the place. He heard from another man 
that two poor fellows had been drowned at the spot 
the day before. Nevertheless, after an inspection, the 
Canadian determined to try his luck, mainly because to 
carry the six thousand pounds in weight of the cargo 
stowed on board would have involved very heavy portage 
for so few hands, and would have meant delay. Still the 
danger was not to be explained away, and the sight of a 
smashed canoe lying below did not tend to put the crew 
in better spirits. 

The captain tried experiments with a big log, and the 
result certainly could not be called encouraging. The 
log swept off in beautiful style at first, at a speed of some 
forty miles an hour. Just as Mr. Secretan was beginning 
to think the passage almost ridiculously easy, the " log 
suddenly stood up straight on end, and, looking me in the 
face, plunged out of sight into some subterranean passage 
which was not laid down on the chart, disappearing for 
ever." The humorous gentleman concluded that if the 
Eva should imitate the example of the log, the expedition 
would come to a sudden and untimely end. 

With astonishing coolness the boat was shoved off, 

everything protected against the floods by tarpaulins tied 

324 



KLONDYKE MINERS 

tight down. It was soon over, the chronicler informs us 
— " a rapid run to the brink, a couple of plunges, a ton or 
so of water on deck, a blinding smother of foam — then 
congratulations and a horn of rum for all hands, in- 
cluding the cook." The time occupied in the passage 
he calculates to have been the fiftieth of a minute, " or 
thereabouts." 

Dropping rapidly down Lewes River, the current being 
very strong, the Eva was soon navigating Lake Labarge, 
where there was fine fishing, salmon trout of up to ten 
pounds being available. After the lake there came a run 
of thirty-two miles with a very rapid current, with many 
rocks in the bed of the stream, a condition of things that 
made the run both good exercise for the steersman's 
muscles and an exciting pastime for all the crew. The 
party did not think much of the " Five Finger Rapids " 
after the " White Horse." Meanwhile the mosquitoes 
had come for the summer, and had come in their strength. 
" No one has seen mosquitoes," Mr. Secretan says, " who has 
not had experience of the Yukon variety." The mosquito 
was, as a matter of fact, the only wild animal the gold- 
miners encountered, but he was enough in himself. 

Bennet Lake, Fort Selkirk, Stewart River, Sixty-Mile 
Post all passed, after many long and toilsome days, at last 
the much-desired Klondyke came in sight, some five 
hundred and seventy-five miles from Dyea, a distance it 
had taken the Canadian and his men forty-five days to 
travel. 

Dawson city, the Klondyke capital, was a collection 

of tents that ran along the river banks for a mile and a 

half, together with liquor stores, saw-mills, warehouses, 

325 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

and the like. Gambling was the great amusement, the 
saloons running all night as well as all day. Miners 
in luck would often bring their hard-earned bags of 
gold-dust — a fortune for life, in some cases — and lose all 
in the course of an evening ; then, after a day or two of 
wretchedness, would calmly go back to the diggings. 

The city was too much for the Canadian, and he pitched 
his tent near a spring, a little outside the town, and in a 
lovely spot by the river side. Throwing himself on the 
soft moss with which the ground was plentifully carpeted, 
he slept the sleep of the weary. But not for long ; 
presently he awoke, feeling chilled to his very bones. 
And no wonder ; there, a few inches below the moss, was 
a layer of hard blue ice, which no summer sun of the 
Klondyke district could ever melt. Before long he and 
his men built a cabin, the mining operations not having 
begun, for no satisfactory " claim " had as yet been 
acquired. 

Mr. Secretan himself seldom left his cabin for the 
distractions of the " city," but he had always before him 
the grand if gloomy spectacle of the rushing, mighty 
river, its waters too muddy to be drinkable. The summer 
wore on, and still no suitable location had been found, 
every likely and unlikely claim having been taken up. 
Then a terrific thunderstorm with fearful lightning 
showed that the short summer was about to break up. 

The Canadian had a most curious experience while 

staying all alone in his cabin. One day an old miner 

came to him and asked him if he was afraid of ghosts. 

He replied, after the manner in fashion at Klondyke, that 

he was afraid of nothing. The miner thereupon pro- 

326 



KLONDYKE MINERS 

ceeded to point to his boat, which he had tied up to the 
bank a few yards away, and informed the occupant of the 
cabin that the boat contained a dead man, and that he 
proposed to leave boat and body there for a few days. 
The dead man had been the miner's partner, but had 
been killed by the falling of a tree. The deceased had a 
brother away at the mines, and it was necessary to wait 
for his arrival before the dead man could be buried. 
Meanwhile the body had been placed in a sort of tin box 
and soldered tight down. Mr. Secretan suggested that 
an immediate funeral was desirable, but of this the miner 
would not hear. The brother must have time to arrive, 
he explained. So the body remained in the boat under 
the bushes a few yards below the cabin for a day or two. 
The Canadian saw the old miner each morning when he 
came to see if his " pardner " was still safe in his boat. 
When the funeral did at last take place it was made the 
occasion for a big turn-out of the mining population, who 
seemed to love a funeral mightily. 

By July, Mr. Secretan had had more than enough of 
Klondyke. He had not succeeded in accomplishing what 
he had hoped to do, and he longed to get back to civiliza- 
tion. So he embarked on a miserable steamer to traverse 
the eighteen hundred miles of Yukon waters that still 
intervened between him and the salt sea. His men 
remained to look after the claims that had at last been 
secured. The long winter of the Arctic regions would 
have to be faced by them before they would be able 
to get to actual work on the claims. 

The steamboat was crowded, and the accommodation 
wretched. The very first night out, when the Canadian 

327 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

was asleep in an upper berth, the whole thing came down 
with a crash, injuring one man who was sleeping below 
and frightening another. After that it seemed wisest to 
sleep on the floor. Circle City was passed later on, and 
then, some miles below, the steamer stuck fast on a 
sand-bank. 

The Yukon at that part of its course is thirty miles 
wide, but it is full of shoals and sand-bars, and the district 
is appropriately enough named the " Flats." Here, stuck in 
a couple of feet of water, the vessel was destined to stay for 
many days. Hours passed, then days, then weeks — it was 
eighteen days before the miserable passengers were able 
to get away from their prison house. All manner of 
devices were tried to get the ship off the bar, but the 
only result seemed to be to push her farther on to it. 
Digging out was tried, but on so feeble a scale that it was 
useless. The crew who had to turn out to do the digging 
were Indians, and less work for a given time than was 
done by these loafers no one had ever seen done by men. 
The Canadian surveyor, with his turn for calculations of 
the kind, estimated that it would take the available force 
more than seven years to dig out a channel big enough to 
float the vessel. It seemed as if the whole population of 
the ship, passengers as well as crew, would have to spend 
the rest of their lives on that sand-bar. In fact, till some 
other vessel should come and take them off, it was 
impossible for the passengers to get away. 

Another steamer was at last seen coming up the river, 

but, to the disgust of everybody on board the stranded 

boat, the captain held on his way up-stream to Dawson 

City, and it was only on his return that the prisoners 

328 



KLONDYKE MINERS 

were taken off — or some of them — and placed once more 
in the way of continuing their voyage down the Yukon. 

The lower portion of this mighty river was found to be 
most dreary, and everybody was glad when the delta — 
said to be more than a hundred miles broad — came in 
sight, and Behring's Sea was reached. Of the many 
changes of boats, and the infinite trouble and delay the 
Canadian had to experience before he set foot again on 
civilized territory, it is not necessary to speak. He had 
traversed the whole length of the wonderful Arctic river, 
that length running to nigh upon two thousand five 
hundred miles. 



329 



XXIX 

CROSSING NORTH RUSSIAN RIVERS 

The crossing of rivers often a great difficulty to a traveller — Mr. Trevor- 
Battye on his way from Kolguev to Archangel — Up the Petchora — 
Passage of the Tsilma — Ponies unable to mount the steep frozen bank 
— Hauled up by ropes — Boat returns across river to fetch another 
horse — Boat, with two men and horse on board, wedged fast in ice — 
Carried down-stream — Had to be left to their fate — A happy sequel — 
The Mezen to be crossed — Novel bridge construction — A plucky lad — 
The bridge sags ominously — A crash, but all saved — The ' ' Governor " 
a name to conjure with — The Mezen — A wolf hunt — The fate of the 
runaway horse — The Vashka — The Pinega — The Northern Dwina — 
A villanous ferryman on the Volga. 

One of the commonest difficulties met with by travellers 
in uncivilized or thinly-populated regions is the crossing 
of the streams, big and little, that intersect their path. 
A mere streamlet, or even a good-sized river, if it is 
shallow and slow, may present but a very small hindrance. 
But it is quite a different matter if it is an Obi, or a 
Congo, that forms the obstacle in the traveller's way. 
And not the least serious of his difficulties arise in con- 
nection with rivers within or near the Arctic Circle. 

The experiences of Mr. Trevor-Battye at any rate go to 
prove this last statement. He had been in the Arctic 
island of Kolguev, and was making his way to the city of 
Archangel on the White Sea. His course lay up the 
great Petchora River, and then across many other streams 

of similar character. 

330 



CROSSING NORTH RUSSIAN RIVERS 

Leaving the Petchora at Ust-Tsilma, after a lengthy 
passage up the great waterway, the traveller struck off 
across country in a general westerly direction, to traverse 
a land watered by a series of rivers of the first importance, 
the Mezen and the Northern Dwina, of which even some 
of the tributaries are grand streams. His progress was 
soon stopped by the Tsilma, a great feeder of the Petchora 
he had just left. The passage of this river promised to be 
a formidable affair. 

Finding the boat too small to carry across all his three 
ponies at once, he left one, a grey, tied on the bank till 
the other two should be safely ferried over. There was 
floating ice in the river, and to avoid this the traveller 
and his men were compelled to land their ponies on a 
high and steep bank, or at least on a ledge at the foot of 
it. To haul up the baggage to the top of this awkward 
incline was tough work, but it was simplicity itself when 
compared with the difficulty of getting up the horses. 
The poor brutes, not being roughed, could not mount a 
yard up the slope, and dared not move for fear of slipping 
into the river itself. 

This was a pretty pass, and the Russian peasants, after 

the manner of their kind, as Mr. Trevor-Battye found, 

declared it to be impossible to go on ; there was nothing 

for it, they insisted, but to put the animals into the boat 

again and go back to the place whence they had started. 

This notion did not recommend itself to him, and he began 

to cast about him for some method of getting the ponies 

up to the top. His first step was to scramble up the 

slippery bank himself, not an easy task. There were 

some small trees growing there, and it occurred to him 

331 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

that with ropes passed round these it might be possible to 
haul up the ponies. But he had with him only the ropes 
that secured the baggage, and a number of raw hide 
thongs. 

To the amazement of the peasants the traveller pro- 
ceeded to adjust the ropes round the body of one of the 
animals, and climbing up a second time he put the other 
ends of his cords round the trunk of a tree, bringing his 
men to the top to pull. Descending once more he gave 
the signal to the men above to haul, while he stayed 
below to help the animal. The poor frightened brute 
plunged wildly, but at every plunge he was forced upwards 
willy-nilly, till at length, after an exciting time, he was 
landed on the level. The traveller breathed more freely, 
for he had fully expected to see the ropes break under the 
strain, and the poor pony dashed headlong to destruction. 
The other animal was got up in a similar manner. 

All this time the grey had been waiting his turn on the 
other bank. The ice-floes were swirling down the broad 
river at a great rate, but presently a clear cross-channel 
opening out, one of the peasants offered to take his son, a 
lad of fourteen, with him to fetch the horse across. The 
fellow declared that it could easily be done. Meanwhile 
the rest of the party stayed on the top of their high bank 
to watch the proceedings. The boat made the outward 
journey safely, and the horse was shipped. 

For a time the return passage went well, the men 

taking advantage of every bit of open water. But then 

came a turn of events unexpected by those in the boat, 

but clearly foreseen by the rest of the party from their 

elevated perch on the top of the bank. Huge ice-blocks 

332 



CROSSING NORTH RUSSIAN RIVERS 

were whirling about in the middle of the river, grinding 
against each other in a fashion that meant destruction to 
the boat should it get caught between two of them. 
After a period of crunching and grinding one against 
another the blocks swirled off. Many of them drifted into 
a narrow channel, where they speedily froze into one solid 
piece. The boat was gradually being hemmed in, and the 
chance of exit from the formidable ice-barriers was every 
moment becoming less. The men on the cliff shouted 
with all their might, seeing the imminent danger. But 
it was all in vain ; before many more minutes had passed 
the craft was wedged in fast. Escape was now hopeless 
for the boat ; as for men and horse, their difficulties before 
they could feel themselves safe were likely to be many and 
serious. They were being carried rapidly down-stream 
with the general ice mass, and no help could be given 
from the bank, the snow lying too thick by the side of 
the river to admit of the men there following the receding 
boat. Man and beast had to be left to their fate, a 
state of things that caused great anxiety to the English 
traveller. Whether he would ever hear of them again, 
he did not know, but it was with a foreboding heart that 
he went on reluctantly to the next posting-house, evening 
being at hand. 

Luckily the sequel proved a happy one. About mid- 
night the sleeping inmates of the post-house were aroused 
by a great shouting, and there appeared the two boatmen 
leading the grey. Except for a little lameness, his leg 
having been cut by the ice, the horse was little the worse. 
It appeared that the two fellows had pulled the animal 

out of the boat on to the ice, and that it had then made 

333 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

for the shore, cleverly jumping from floe to floe, the men 
following. They had made good their escape only just in 
the nick of time. Hardly had they reached the bank 
when a huge piece of ice parted from the rest and carried 
away the boat down the flood to its destruction. 

Travelling on, the party came in due time to the basin 
of the Mezen. Here they found it a hard matter to get 
across even a small tributary of that river. There had 
been a bridge, and one end of it was still fairly sound. 
But the nearer end was broken, and was lying under the 
foaming and ice-encumbered waters, huge frozen masses 
dashing madly through the opening. The party con- 
sisted of three men and a boy, and they had with them 
four sledges and five horses. The Russians declared at 
once that it was impossible to cross the stream ; this was 
the way of their countrymen. But Mr. Trevor-Battye 
had no intention of turning back defeated. 

Taking their axes the men cut down two or three pines, 
to throw into the river just above the bridge so as to 
serve as a screen against the ice-blocks. To their dis- 
appointment the current carried off like straws the trees 
thrown into it. At last, however, a couple were got into 
position and there stuck, though it was evident that 
sooner or later they too would be swept off. Then for the 
bridge proper. 

A couple of long poplars were felled, but the difficult 

problem was how to get these trunks to span the breach 

so that their further ends should rest on the sound part of 

the bridge. The lad was plucky enough to venture across 

on the pines that had been thrown into the river. It was 

a risky thing to attempt, for failure meant a wetting at 

334 



CROSSING NORTH RUSSIAN RIVERS 

the very least, and in such weather, with no chance of a 

change of clothes for an hour or two, a wetting was 

no light matter. The boy succeeded in making the 

passage, fortunately, and secured the end of a rope he had 

carried with him to the sound end of the bridge. This 

rope was attached to the trunk of one of the poplars. 

The Englishman by this time had found a shallow, over 

which the horses were taken. The flood nearly carried 

the animals off their feet, but after a struggle they 

managed to scramble up the further bank. The problem 

was half solved, and it did not take long to haul the two 

poplars into position, side by side, across a stream. One 

of the sledges was placed on the trunks in such a way 

that the runners would, it was hoped, prevent it from 

falling over into the water. But when the weight of the 

sledge, together with that of the man who walked behind 

to steady the thing, came upon the frail structure, the 

trees sagged ominously. So threatening was the position, 

indeed, that the fellow beat a hasty retreat to the bank 

again, leaving the sledge to its fate. The vehicle, with 

its load, wobbled fearfully, and seemed every moment as 

if about to make a plunge into the swirling waters below. 

It was an anxious time, and even at the very last moment, 

when the sledge was just about to touch the sound portion 

of the old bridge, the Englishman had to throw himself 

precipitately upon it and hold with all his might. This 

timely help had the effect of causing the falling sledge to 

right itself, and the next instant it was safe. The other 

sledges were all got across in similar fashion, but not 

without imminent danger in every case. 

Just as the travellers were starting on their way again, 

335 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

with a loud swish the structure they had engineered with 

so much difficulty went off with a rush down the river, as 

if it had been the merest bit of stick. The next day a 

stream, covered with ice too thin to bear, had to be 

crossed. The passage was effected by breaking a narrow 

channel across, and filling the gap with trees, till a 

temporary but risky causeway had been made. 

The River Neza presented a magnificent spectacle in 

the moonlight when the travellers reached its bank — 

wide, covered with broken ice patches, its shores fringed 

with snow-laden trees. On the opposite shore was a 

village, and the wayfarers set up manful shouts to attract 

the attention of the ferryman. The only reply received 

was the common one of the Russian peasantry, 

" Impossible ! " Here then was the Englishman, late at 

night, stranded with his men and baggage on the brink of 

a formidable river, and no help to be had for the passage. 

The situation was not cheering, to say the least of it, to 

cold, weary and shelterless travellers. But presently one 

of the peasants with him yelled out something in which 

Mr. Trevor-Battye detected more than once the word 

" Governor." Whatever may have been the exact purport 

of the speech, the effect of it was at any rate satisfactory. 

Before long a speck was seen approaching across the wide 

waters, and presently a boat appeared. The passage was 

not without many dangers ; the boat was laden down to 

the gunwale, and the ice-floes had every moment to be 

kept off by the vigorous and watchful use of poles. 

There is little doubt that the Russian peasant had 

represented to the ferryman that it was the governor of 

the province who was waiting to be ferried over. 

336 



CROSSING NORTH RUSSIAN RIVERS 

The Mezen itself provided the Englishman and his 
servants with no less excitement than the rest of the 
rivers that intersected their path. They had, in truth, a 
specially hazardous passage of it. But they had their 
reward in finding on the other side accommodation of a 
superior kind, such as they rarely met with on their 
journey. 

Here a diversion occurred to relieve the monotony of 
the way. Mr. Trevor-Battye was roused in the early 
hours of the morning by a great noise in the yard. Going 
down he found the place in a state of intense excitement. 
Wolves had actually come into the very middle of the 
village, had broken open the stable door, and had frightened 
away one of the three horses. The other two poor beasts 
were in a lather of sweat through fear. 

Quickly harnessing the trembling brutes, the English- 
man and a companion were soon off in pursuit. It was 
a bitterly cold morning. The tracks made by horse and 
wolves showed that two of the latter had run on one side 
of the steed and one on the other. The hunted horse and 
his hunters had had a considerable start. Yet the 
Englishman knew that the body of the poor beast must 
be found at length, for it was impossible he should finally 
escape the pitiless, tireless wolves at his heels. It was 
easy to picture the scene of the pursuit, and Mr. Trevor- 
Battye saw everything in his mind's eye as if he had been 
an actual observer — the savage brutes drawing gradually 
nearer and nearer the maddened horse, biding their time 
— at last venturing to give the animal an ugly bite — the 
waning strength of the pursued — the untired freshness of 

the bloody pursuers. 

22 337 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

For miles the tracks ran on, and at length the other 
man would have returned. But the Englishman was 
very keen, and very eager to follow on. Before long a 
little blood was found upon the ground. It was evident 
this was the beginning of the end ; the wolves had grown 
bold enough to snatch an occasional mouthful of flesh 
from the horse's quivering body. Still the tracks ran on 
and on, till at last even the keen sportsman in the sledge 
was about to give up the chase. All at once, however, 
the two men found themselves on the bank of a broad 
frozen river. There, on the ice in the very middle of the 
river, lay the mangled remains of the poor hunted beast. 
The wolves in their savage hunger had even broken off 
from the vertebrae several of the animal's ribs ! Such is 
the strength of jaw possessed by these brutes. 

The Vashka river was not crossed till after two hours' 
hard work with oars and poles, the swift current having 
meanwhile carried the party three versts down-stream, 
notwithstanding all their efforts. Then came the Pinega, 
which the travellers crossed twice before they knew it 
was the Pinega. When they proposed to cross it a third 
time, they were earnestly entreated by the peasants not 
to attempt to traverse that country at all, as it was 
terribly infested with wolves, and full of dangers to way- 
farers. Mr. Trevor-Battye was not a man to be stopped 
by mere reports, and went on his way. Fortunately he 
fell in with a postman who showed him a way of reaching 
Archangel without crossing the Northern Dwina, a big 
river presenting difficulties unusual even in northern 
Russia. 

It is worth noting that even in far more civilized parts 

338 



CROSSING NORTH RUSSIAN RIVERS 

of Russia, the want of bridges or of other means of 
crossing great streams often gives much trouble to 
travellers. Mr. Trevor-Battye, at a later stage of his 
journeyings, found himself late one night on the bank of 
the Volga, opposite the town of Yaroslavl. He had just 
alighted from an express train, slow but luxurious in 
comparison with his earlier vehicles in Russia. He was 
anxious to get across the Volga, to catch a night train 
from Yaroslavl. To his dismay he found that the steam 
ferry-boat had ceased running on account of the fringe of 
ice that had formed along both banks. He then asked if 
there were no other boat, and found that the only rowing 
ferry-boat had been requisitioned by the Governor. 

In this awkward pass — a dark, cold night, with little 
or nothing in the way of a shelter till the dawn should 
come — an evil-looking fellow appeared and offered to 
ferry over the luckless traveller. His charge was at first 
enormous, and his services were rejected. However, he 
came at length down to five roubles, at which a bargain 
was struck. Soon the passenger and his belongings were 
stowed away in the boat, and the villanous-looking ferry- 
man started to cross the dark, cold Volga. When but a 
fraction of the way had been made, the lights of Yaroslavl 
still showing far off, the fellow suddenly stopped and 
demanded thirty roubles. This was too much for the 
passenger, who, observing that there was not now time to 
catch his train, determined to show the scoundrel what an 
Englishman was made of. So the boatman was ordered 
to turn about at once and put back. This had the effect 
of bringing the man a little more to his senses, and he 

offered to go on at the price originally agreed upon. But 

339 



ADVENTURES ON GREAT RIVERS 

his fare was too angry to consent, and so he was landed 
at the place from which he had started, and was com- 
pelled to pass the night in a miserable little cabin, where, 
however, as he tells us, " the fleas were fairly merciful." 
This within hail of express trains and the electric light. 



THE END 






Richard Clay # Sons, Limited, London and Bungay. 









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